Run, Girl (If You Can)

The morning of their trip, Keeley and Aaron ran around like chickens with their heads cut off making sure they had everything they needed. Neither of them had ever traveled with babies before. They were already exhausted by the time they picked up Robert and made it to the airport.

Violet and Kaleb didn't appreciate being stuck in their car seats so long and started to cry while waiting in the baggage check line. Even their pacifiers didn't help much. The car seats counted as checked baggage and got put on the conveyor belt with the suitcases. They were much happier being held.

"You two are so spoiled," Keeley said with a sigh, watching them gurgle happily once they were free.

"You were exactly the same as a baby," her father reminded her. "You never wanted to be put down either. They get it from you."

She didn't have a response for that so she chose to ignore it and busied herself pulling out rattles for the babies to play with once while they went through the security line. It was rather long today.

Traveling with babies was harder than she would have anticipated. They got hungry right around the time their group was supposed to board the plane so they cried until everyone was seated and their parents could feed them.

Luckily they fell asleep shortly after the plane hit the air so Keeley leaned back in the comfortable first class chair and put on a pair of headphones to listen to music. Her father did the same. Aaron pulled out his e-reader and expertly used it one-handed while holding onto Violet with the other.

The flight was only an hour and fifteen minutes long, which wasn't bad at all. The twins slept all the way until it was time to disembark and then they started fussing because they needed their diapers changed.

Keeley and her father kept the babies entertained once they collected their luggage while Aaron picked up the rental car. After what seemed like hours (but was probably only thirty minutes) he finally came back and took them all to the nicest hotel in the city.

The Hales' room already had two little cribs set up when they arrived. The staff here was very thorough. Robert's room was directly across the hall. They split up to unpack and make sure the babies were fed, agreeing to meet back up and walk around the city afterwards.

Keeley flopped onto the bed, testing the mattress. It was just as high quality as the ones at home. No wonder Aaron insisted on staying in such a pricey place.

She found that she didn't mind these sorts of things the way she used to. Flying first class, staying in expensive hotels…it was really a matter of comfort rather than status. He was still willing to do cheap touristy things like visit Niagara Falls with her and that was the important thing.

Aaron had told her over and over that it was okay she didn't love him but it felt like their relationship was unbalanced even without factoring that in. In their first life she twisted herself into a pretzel to fit into his world but now he was doing the same thing for her.

Although, she had to admit he seemed a lot more comfortable with the change than she ever had. And he had said that he enjoyed being pulled around and experiencing her enthusiasm in the past. Still…

He did pretty much everything Keeley wanted without asking for much in return. He said he only needed to be with her to be happy but was that the truth? Was he really happy?

She glanced over at him as he prepared Kaleb's bottle. He certainly seemed content. For months now he had been a lot better about showing his emotions on his face. He looked like he was happy but she couldn't be sure.

"Aaron, are you really okay with all of this?"

"All of what?" he asked without turning around.

"My lifestyle. It's so different from what you're used to between my friends, my dad, and the types of things we do…" Keeley trailed off, feeling awkward.

Aaron set the bottle down and crossed the room to take her hands in his. His dark blue eyes were warm. The sight of them did funny things to her heart.

"I love the life we have now," he said emphatically. "I never truly enjoyed high society; I was just used to it because it was all I knew. Your friends are genuine, like you are. You already know I like your dad. And I've always loved experiencing things through your eyes. This is more than I could have possibly dreamed of so you don't have to worry about me."

She couldn't doubt his sincerity but still decided to tease him a little. "Even though you don't usually like the restaurants I pick?"

Aaron shrugged. "That's a small price to pay for everything else. Seriously though Keeley, I couldn't be happier. So relax, okay? We're on vacation."

His words made her feel a tiny bit better. She pulled him down onto the bed next to her and rolled over to face him. They were so close together that their foreheads were touching.

He gazed into her eyes without blinking, an amused smile on his face. He did always seem to enjoy when she did things like this. She usually wasn't the one to make the first move.

"Promise you're not just saying things to make me feel better?" she asked in a small voice.

Aaron held up his pinky and linked it through hers the way she always did back when they were dating in college. "Promise. I love you and everything that comes along with that."

He gave her a quick kiss on the lips before getting back up. Violet was upset that she hadn't gotten her bottle yet.

Keeley couldn't help but smile as she watched her husband tenderly rock their daughter as he fed her. She never would have imagined Aaron being like this in their first life. When given a second chance, he broke the cycle of familial coldness he had been a part of after all.