"Dad! Mom! Come here! I think Hannah's about to take her first steps," I yelled.
"Coming, Brad!" Dad and Mom yelled from upstairs.
Running down, they ran down and I looked at Hannah eagerly. It was an exciting time for her with all the milestones. First words, first steps, first birthday. There was so much for her to be excited about! I couldn't wait for her to turn one. Next year or when she was two, Mom would probably put her in dance. She always said that she wanted to put our sister in dance if we ever had one.
It was hard to believe that my sister was already one. It felt like yesterday that she was only five pounds and now she was nearly twenty. She was small for her age. It wasn't abnormally small, but it was small in a cute way. Eventually, she grew to be Mom's height, but it was still adorable.
"I can't believe she's taking her first steps, Brad!" Randy grinned at me.
I grinned at him. "Next week she'll be one! Unbelievable!"
Mom and Dad walked down and smiled at us. Though I was never gushy, I always felt that Randy, Mark, Hannah and I were lucky to have Mom and Dad. They never spanked us (they grounded us as an alternative) and always gave attention. Neither of them felt that we had to pay anything back.
Dad grabbed the camera and stepped back a little. "Come on, Hannah. Take your first steps, baby girl."
"Hannah, come get your lion," Randy held it up.
Wobbily, Hannah stood up and started walking towards Randy as we gasped. I had a strong feeling that Randy would be the one she'd walk to first. The two of them had a special bond that no one could change. It was like Randy's and my bond. We weren't always friends but we loved each other. Eventually, Hannah would lean on all three of us, but always had that bond with Randy.
"Big girl! My baby isn't a baby anymore. You're a toddler," Mom smiled sadly.
Hannah babbled eagerly at her. "Mama."
….
I walked into the store with Marty and I felt sadness weigh down on my shoulders. My baby girl was going to be one and had already started walking. How was time flying so fast? The only person who knew how that felt (that I wanted to talk to) was Marty, my little brother. We had a close-knit bond. It was a bond that shared similarities to Brad and Randy's. We joked that Brad and Randy were the reboot of Marty and myself.
"How is it that Hannah's one already?" I looked at him. "Time flew by."
"I know. I remember when she was first born."
"Now do you know how I felt when the twins were born, Tim?" Marty looked at me with a chuckle.
"I love the feeling. We need to get the girls together when they're older."
We laughed and walked towards the toy aisle. It was fun to talk to my little brother and spend time with him. It felt as if nothing had changed. He was still someone that looked up to me and I actually looked up to him. He gave me advice and I gave advice to him too.
"I remember when you asked me to be her godfather."
Flashback to August 1995
"So how do you guys like having a baby girl?" Marty asked as he handed me a tool and started helping me with the hot rod.
I smiled and looked at the car. "I love it. It's such fun. There's nothing like seeing that little smile in the morning when you change her diaper or when you hold her."
Marty chuckled and looked at me. "I'm twice as lucky. I get two faces that do that for me in the morning. Just wait until they can move more. She'll be twice as fun."
"So, I wanted to ask you something. Jill and I know wanted to know if you and Nancy would be interested in being Hannah's godparents since you're the boys'?"
Marty gave a smile. "We'd love to! Nancy and I love the four of them!"
I smiled at him, feeling proud. "And Jill and I love our nieces. We figured you two could handle the kids. Mom's a bit old and you guys would still have energy. We didn't want to have our parents have to do it if something happens."
"That reminds me. Nancy and I were wondering if you guys wanna be the twins' godparents since you guys still have energy. You guys seem like the best choice for doing that since you're already parents."
I nodded with a smile. "Jill and I would love that."
Marty grinned at me. "Oh I remember that fondly. I'm so happy that we get to spend more time together since I moved to town. Once the girls are older, I think Nancy will want to have sleepovers and all that stuff."
I nodded eagerly and found a top hat. I put it on and Marty started snickering. See? We had the relationship that Brad and Randy had.
"You should get Hannah's present while you're here," I told and found a toy stroller with a doll in it and put it in the cart.
Marty found a tea party set and put it in the cart too. "Would two gifts be okay?"
I nodded. "Two gifts are perfectly fine."
I found an educational puppy and put it in the cart. I put in a picnic set and grinned with a big smile. Hannah would love all of her presents.
"I think we're ready for Hannah's party," Marty smiled.
"We sure are," I smiled.
(A/N: sorry for the short update! The next one is the last one!)
