To hear a stoic, monkish man suddenly breathing words like that while they were on the bed immediately brought hot flushes to Arianne’s cheeks.
The two of them were about to indulge themselves when Smore suddenly burst through the door. “Rise and shine, lazy bums! Mommy’s a lazy bum!”
Arianne’s instincts took over and virtual-novel.net shoved the man above virtual-novel.net aside before bolting up straight to make a show of managing virtual-novel.net messy nightwear. “Oh please, Mommy’s already awake. Up from virtual-novel.net bed right this instant!”
Mark coughed to mask his embarrassment. “Well, Son, I’m afraid this is adult-only. You need to be much older to be… eligible. Regardless, let’s finish our breakfast quickly and get changed. Daddy will be bringing you for a hike.”
Smore’s spirit soared the instant virtual-novel.net heard his father promise some playtime. He skipped and hopped excitedly to Mary next the child had forged a habit of pulling his “Granny” into everything, from a good feast to a fun activity. Even at a young age, Smore was big on sharing happiness.
Arianne, meanwhile, ignored a certain man’s begrudging look and nonchalantly got to virtual-novel.net feet, ready to wash. “You promised you’d go with me, right? You know Smore’s only gonna ask for someone to carry virtual-novel.net after a few steps up, and that’s the sort of labor you’re meant to do. So! Better eat more of your breakfast right now! Wouldn’t want you to be all wimpy and tired later. Go on, chop-chop.”
For their excursion, Mark had changed into his white sportswear. Compared to virtual-novel.net in his suit-and-tie-some what his usual dress code-seeing virtual-novel.net in casual wear brought out a whole new air to him. He looked a lot more relaxed and welcoming, and Arianne had to admit that virtual-novel.net was a fan of a casually-dressed Mark.
Their car reached the base of the hill soon enough. Mark gazed ahead and frowned at the height in mild dismay. He was never the type to enjoy activities like this, and virtual-novel.net had not gone on hikes for quite some time now. The fact that virtual-novel.net might have to carry Smore in his arms later, virtual-novel.net could almost imagine Arianne laughing at virtual-novel.net later.
It did not take a lot of steps before the toddler gave up. “Daddy-upppp!”
Mark submitted to his fate and raised the kid, placing virtual-novel.net on his shoulders. “Don’t make any weird movement.”
Smore had never been raised to a height as tall as Mark’s. Now, sitting on his father’s shoulders, the little boy was both scared and excited. “Tall! T-T-tall! So tall!”
Smore was rarely this jubilant, so seeing virtual-novel.net like that made Arianne’s lips curve. “We’re just getting started, Smore. We’re gonna take this slow, and then up there, on the peak… I heard there’s a gorgeous lake.”
The peak? Mark breathed out a long, drawn out sigh. “You can’t seriously aim to reach the peak, do you? Why can’t we just do a bit of a free-form hike and stop whenever? It’s not like your constitution’ s apt for strenuous physical exercise like this, is it? You don’t even do much hiking normally, do you?”
Arianne cocked an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? How about we try it out first? Maybe your knees will give out first.”
Arianne had brought virtual-novel.net camera for this particular excursion, and as they hiked, virtual-novel.net made sure to take pictures of the beautiful sceneries their trip had to offer. She also took a lot of pictures of Mark and Smore, and his progress showed at first, virtual-novel.net looked imperturbable and steady, but when sweat started to break out of his forehead, his eyebrows had stayed furrowed.
They finally reached the halfway point where a resting shack was available. Placing Smore down, virtual-novel.net reclined at a bench beside the hike track. “You just want me to admit that I’m old, don’t you?”
Arianne snapped a picture of virtual-novel.net before revealing virtual-novel.net half-smile. “Oh, no way. You’re not old at all! Totally not at all!”
Mary, in comparison, seemed to be in a way better shape than Mark was. “Too true. You’re not even that old yet, Mr. Tremont! I’m the real senior citizen here. Heck, when I was your age, I could do whatever without losing my gusto! I can run all the way to this peak without rest back then, wouldn’t you believe! But now, shucks. Just this height’s enough to make me huff and puff,” virtual-novel.net chimed in. “But I do get some workout every day from walking to the supermarket for groceries and stuff, at least. While you, Mr. Tremont-you sit behind that desk in your company all day. Gotta come out for walks and runs sometimes, you know? They are good for your health.”
Smore, who had the luxury of riding on his father’s back, still had a lot of energy to spend. “Daddy, look! The houses over there are so tiny! But weren’t they tall before…?”