(Next morning...)
Chloe awoke slowly that morning, her eyes barely fluttering opening and her hand moving across the bed to look for Brady. His side of the bed was empty, but still warm. She sighed and sat up on her elbows, but he was nowhere in sight. She sat up all the way and stretched sleepily, slipping out of the bed and into the bathrobe that Brady had packed for her. Chloe's tiny feet padded across the hardwood floor and into the living room.
She hesitantly called out, "Braaaaaady..."
Brady walked out of the kitchen carrying two plates and laid them down on the table. "Good morning, I was just about to go get you."
Chloe walked closer to the table and raised an eyebrow. "You cook? I didn't know you can cook."
Brady shrugged. "I TRIED to cook, I'm not sure how it turned out. If it's terrible, I'll take you to McDonalds."
Chloe sat down and picked up her fork with a smile. "Well, I'm sure it'll be fine. Eggs aren't that hard to do."
She took a taste of the eggs and nodded as she chewed. Brady sat down and glanced at her expectantly. "So...?"
Chloe swallowed and smiled weakly. "Edible..."
Brady took a bite off of his own plate and wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Just barely edible... Ugh, I'm sorry."
Chloe shook her head and picked up a piece of bacon. "No, it's fine. The bacon is good. The toast is very toasty. It's just fine."
"I promise that from now on all of our meals will be restaurant food... I don't want to give you food poisoning or something. So, uhm... how do you feel this morning?"
Chloe took a sip of her orange juice and shrugged. She showed Brady her teeth and tapped them with her index finger. "I feel like I want to brush my teeth. They feel all fuzzy."
Brady chuckled and shook his head. "That's not what I meant... I meant, how do you feel about last night?"
Chloe nodded in understanding. "Ohhhhhh... I feel good, why wouldn't I?"
Brady hesitated nervously. "I don't know... sometimes people regret it. I know that you've never done that before, and I wanted to make sure that everything was okay."
"Everything was perfect. Stop worrying about it. I spent my first life full of regrets and anguish, I'm not going to do that with this life. I regret nothing, and I'm deliriously and disgustingly happy with the world right now."
Brady smiled happily. "Good... I was just checking. So, what do you want to do today?"
Chloe grinned wickedly at him. "I don't know... what we did last night sounds alright to me."
Brady gasped in mock amazement. "Sheesh, you are insatiable. You win your first game of Scrabble, and then it's Scrabble Scrabble Scrabble all the time. I think it was beginner's luck, and you won't be so lucky next time. The triple word score will be mine, devil woman."
Chloe laughed loudly, nearly snorting her orange juice through her nose. "Stop it, Brady. You're going to make my orange juice come out of places it wasn't meant to come out of. I'm talking about what we did BEFORE the Scrabble game, and AFTER too."
Brady winked at her and smiled. "Yeah, I know. But, that can wait until after the hike."
Chloe's eyes widened and she looked at him nervously. "The HIKE?"
Brady nodded and took his plate into the kitchen. He returned and grinned widely at her. "Yeah, the hike. There's some really nice trails up near the mountain, some of the best views you'll ever see. And, don't worry, it's nothing too strenuous, you won't break any of your oh so precious limbs or anything."
"Did you pack me appropriate shoes and clothing for mountain hiking?"
Brady did a mock salute. "Yes, ma'am... Now, finish your breakfast and get ready to go while I load the jeep up. If you want to be up there before tomorrow, we have to get going."
Chloe returned his salute. "Sir, yes, sir. I'll get right on that." She quickly finished her nearly edible breakfast, and took the plate into the kitchen. Brady was doing the dishes and she flashed a bright smile at him before heading the other way to get showered and ready.
***
(Top O' The Mountain...)
Brady and Chloe had hiked together for a couple of hours before reaching the highest spot that they could possibly reach. Brady found a small, secluded clearing that provided plenty of shade underneath the trees. He dropped his large backpack with a thud, and sat on a log beside it to open it up.
Chloe sat beside him and grinned. "You mean, there's actually stuff in that gigantic backpack? It's not just so you can look like a rugged, outdoorsy, manly man?"
"No, I carry it for both reasons. It's functional AND rugged." Brady grabbed what he was looking for. A blanket just big enough for both of them to sit on. He spread the blanket in the shade and took a seat on one edge of it, as Chloe joined him and sat Indian style across from him. Brady pulled out a small bag with two sandwiches and grabbed their bottled water, placing it between them.
"Well, I am impressed. You really ARE a Boy Scout. You brought all the necessities, and you didn't get us lost either." Chloe unwrapped her sandwich and started to nibble on it.
"We did this stuff a lot when I was a kid. Belle hated all the hiking, so it just ended up being Dad and me most of the time. I know these trails pretty well. We would hike while the girls would go swimming on the lake or something. Sometimes the Bradys came so Shawn and Bo would go hiking with us too. You should see Shawn, he's like king of the mountain up here. He could lead anybody anywhere."
Chloe smiled and nodded. "And your sister would probably follow him anywhere too. Those two are just disgustingly perfect sometimes."
Brady chuckled and nodded in agreement. "And as her big brother, Shawn Brady is the ONLY one I think is even close to being good enough for her. I can already imagine them in 10 years, married, 2 kids, a boy and a girl, a puppy, a little pink house and a Toyota Camry. Far too picture perfect..."
Chloe rolled her eyes at him. "Doesn't sound so bad. Might be nice for SOMEONE to have a normal life in Salem. And what about you, Brady? What will YOU be doing in 10 years? Bumming rides in your sister's Toyota? Babysitting little Shawn Jr. and Shawna?"
"You make it sound like I have no ambitions."
Chloe shrugged slightly. "You do still live with your parents."
"Not for long. Want to help me find an apartment next week?"
Chloe raised her eyebrows. "Really?"
"Yeah, really. I've been wanting to for awhile, and I've got the money and the job, I just need to find a hip and happening place to put the welcome mat in front of."
Chloe smiled slightly. "Well, then I take back what I said about your ambitions. Now, back to what I was asking. You asked me what I'm going to do with my life last night. It's your turn now. Where will YOU be in 10 years?"
Brady grinned and kissed her on the forehead. "Wherever you are."
Chloe nearly choked on her sandwich. "What are you trying to say?"
"Calm down, Chloe. It's not like I'm popping the question this very second. It's just that, as of right now, there is no other person I can imagine spending the rest of my life with. Don't panic, it's just a thought... nothing is written in stone."
Chloe nodded and took a sip of water. "I'm not panicking... I'm just, wow... that's a big thing, you know."
Brady smiled and moved his hand to rest on her knee. "I know. But, we've got lots of time before we even need to start thinking about that stuff."
Chloe looked downward and nibbled on her sandwich again. "Well, it is an interesting thought. So, then I would be Jan Black, Mrs. Black, right? I'd rather it be Chloe..."
"Doesn't matter what it is... and besides, I'm a modern man, you can hyphenate if you want."
Chloe wrinkled her nose up. "Jan Spears-Black? That sounds even worse. So, how many kids do you want?"
"Wait a second... Five seconds ago you were all panicky, and now you're asking me how many kids I want? Have you been introduced to schizophrenia all of a sudden?"
Chloe chuckled and shook her head. "No, I'm just curious... It's a girly thing to talk about your wedding, your children and all that, but without actually WANTING those things right this second."
Brady nodded, still confused. "Then my answer is at least two, four at the most. You?"
"Same. I never had real parents, so I would love to be a really good mother to my own children. One is not enough, and five is totally pushing it. I want kids, but there are boundaries and limits to my patience. What about your career? Do you have a career?"
Brady paused thoughtfully. "I kind of like what I'm doing now. I always thought I'd be a musician, but now I really like working for Basic Black. My dad said he was building this company so that his kids would have something when he was gone, and I think I'd like to take over my dad's business someday. I know Belle won't want to, she's not ruthless enough to be an executive."
Chloe grinned and winked at him. "Plus, you get to wear those sexy business suits all the time. I like the suits."
Brady chuckled and laid down on his back, his head resting on his hands. "Just one of the perks of being a high powered business executive. So, how does it all sound when you put it together? Me, the President of Basic Black with my beautiful, intelligent, absolutely perfect wife the elementary school teacher and our 2 to 4 children. A nice minivan so we can take the kids to soccer practice and for family vacations. We should get a beautiful home with a big piece of land around it, swimming pool, swing set and… a gazebo."
Chloe laid back and rested her head on Brady's chest. She looked at up at him and smiled. "Can we have a puppy?"
"Sure, why not? We can have all the puppies you want. And, on the weekends, you and Belle can do your chick stuff together while Shawn and I play basketball with the kids."
Chloe sighed happily. "And what about Phillip? And Mimi too?"
Brady bit his lip slightly, deep in thought. "Uhmmmmm... I don't know what they're doing. But, they are there, of course. Maybe Mimi will have her own TV talk show, she's perky enough for it. And Phillip will be running Titan, I'm sure."
"And we'll all live happily ever..." Chloe paused and sighed deeply. "Not very likely."
Brady gently stroked a hand through her hair. "Don't say that. Happy endings are possible in this world."
"I wish I could believe that, but look at how everything turns out for most of the people we know. It's just unthinkable that we'll all go on and have these picture perfect lives. It's like when you're 8 years old and you tell your friend that you'll be 'friends forever and ever', and then you're not even speaking to each other 3 years later."
Brady held her closer and stroked her back reassuringly. "You can't think that way, Chloe. I'm not saying that things will always be perfect, but whatever happens we'll come through it. We have before and we will again. I've been shot, Belle was in a coma, Shawn has had his life in danger numerous times, Mimi was homeless, Phillip had a gambling problem..."
Chloe interjected, "I died..."
"Exactly. And we've always bounced back, haven't we? I hate to sound like a cliche, but what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."
Chloe felt a lump in her throat, and a strange gnawing sensation at the back of her brain. For months she had completely pushed away the warning that Keyes had given her. She had tried to enjoy her life, and not worry about the warning, but at this moment his words had come flooding back to her. Chloe began to worry about the consequences of her love with Brady, and she hoped that whatever was to come was just another thing they would bounce back from.
Chloe sighed and pulled herself closer to Brady. "I hope you're right, I really do."
"I am right. Everything will be okay, Chloe."
Chloe silently prayed that he was right. Everything had been going so well lately, that part of her was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. She was waiting for her entire world to be torn apart once more. They laid there together in each other's arms making conversation about happier subjects for the rest of the afternoon. Together they pointed out shapes that they saw in the white fluffy clouds above them, and enjoyed the sounds of the forest. As the sun began to fall, they decided to gather their things and head back to their car before they got stuck up there in the dark.
***
Chloe awoke slowly that morning, her eyes barely fluttering opening and her hand moving across the bed to look for Brady. His side of the bed was empty, but still warm. She sighed and sat up on her elbows, but he was nowhere in sight. She sat up all the way and stretched sleepily, slipping out of the bed and into the bathrobe that Brady had packed for her. Chloe's tiny feet padded across the hardwood floor and into the living room.
She hesitantly called out, "Braaaaaady..."
Brady walked out of the kitchen carrying two plates and laid them down on the table. "Good morning, I was just about to go get you."
Chloe walked closer to the table and raised an eyebrow. "You cook? I didn't know you can cook."
Brady shrugged. "I TRIED to cook, I'm not sure how it turned out. If it's terrible, I'll take you to McDonalds."
Chloe sat down and picked up her fork with a smile. "Well, I'm sure it'll be fine. Eggs aren't that hard to do."
She took a taste of the eggs and nodded as she chewed. Brady sat down and glanced at her expectantly. "So...?"
Chloe swallowed and smiled weakly. "Edible..."
Brady took a bite off of his own plate and wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Just barely edible... Ugh, I'm sorry."
Chloe shook her head and picked up a piece of bacon. "No, it's fine. The bacon is good. The toast is very toasty. It's just fine."
"I promise that from now on all of our meals will be restaurant food... I don't want to give you food poisoning or something. So, uhm... how do you feel this morning?"
Chloe took a sip of her orange juice and shrugged. She showed Brady her teeth and tapped them with her index finger. "I feel like I want to brush my teeth. They feel all fuzzy."
Brady chuckled and shook his head. "That's not what I meant... I meant, how do you feel about last night?"
Chloe nodded in understanding. "Ohhhhhh... I feel good, why wouldn't I?"
Brady hesitated nervously. "I don't know... sometimes people regret it. I know that you've never done that before, and I wanted to make sure that everything was okay."
"Everything was perfect. Stop worrying about it. I spent my first life full of regrets and anguish, I'm not going to do that with this life. I regret nothing, and I'm deliriously and disgustingly happy with the world right now."
Brady smiled happily. "Good... I was just checking. So, what do you want to do today?"
Chloe grinned wickedly at him. "I don't know... what we did last night sounds alright to me."
Brady gasped in mock amazement. "Sheesh, you are insatiable. You win your first game of Scrabble, and then it's Scrabble Scrabble Scrabble all the time. I think it was beginner's luck, and you won't be so lucky next time. The triple word score will be mine, devil woman."
Chloe laughed loudly, nearly snorting her orange juice through her nose. "Stop it, Brady. You're going to make my orange juice come out of places it wasn't meant to come out of. I'm talking about what we did BEFORE the Scrabble game, and AFTER too."
Brady winked at her and smiled. "Yeah, I know. But, that can wait until after the hike."
Chloe's eyes widened and she looked at him nervously. "The HIKE?"
Brady nodded and took his plate into the kitchen. He returned and grinned widely at her. "Yeah, the hike. There's some really nice trails up near the mountain, some of the best views you'll ever see. And, don't worry, it's nothing too strenuous, you won't break any of your oh so precious limbs or anything."
"Did you pack me appropriate shoes and clothing for mountain hiking?"
Brady did a mock salute. "Yes, ma'am... Now, finish your breakfast and get ready to go while I load the jeep up. If you want to be up there before tomorrow, we have to get going."
Chloe returned his salute. "Sir, yes, sir. I'll get right on that." She quickly finished her nearly edible breakfast, and took the plate into the kitchen. Brady was doing the dishes and she flashed a bright smile at him before heading the other way to get showered and ready.
***
(Top O' The Mountain...)
Brady and Chloe had hiked together for a couple of hours before reaching the highest spot that they could possibly reach. Brady found a small, secluded clearing that provided plenty of shade underneath the trees. He dropped his large backpack with a thud, and sat on a log beside it to open it up.
Chloe sat beside him and grinned. "You mean, there's actually stuff in that gigantic backpack? It's not just so you can look like a rugged, outdoorsy, manly man?"
"No, I carry it for both reasons. It's functional AND rugged." Brady grabbed what he was looking for. A blanket just big enough for both of them to sit on. He spread the blanket in the shade and took a seat on one edge of it, as Chloe joined him and sat Indian style across from him. Brady pulled out a small bag with two sandwiches and grabbed their bottled water, placing it between them.
"Well, I am impressed. You really ARE a Boy Scout. You brought all the necessities, and you didn't get us lost either." Chloe unwrapped her sandwich and started to nibble on it.
"We did this stuff a lot when I was a kid. Belle hated all the hiking, so it just ended up being Dad and me most of the time. I know these trails pretty well. We would hike while the girls would go swimming on the lake or something. Sometimes the Bradys came so Shawn and Bo would go hiking with us too. You should see Shawn, he's like king of the mountain up here. He could lead anybody anywhere."
Chloe smiled and nodded. "And your sister would probably follow him anywhere too. Those two are just disgustingly perfect sometimes."
Brady chuckled and nodded in agreement. "And as her big brother, Shawn Brady is the ONLY one I think is even close to being good enough for her. I can already imagine them in 10 years, married, 2 kids, a boy and a girl, a puppy, a little pink house and a Toyota Camry. Far too picture perfect..."
Chloe rolled her eyes at him. "Doesn't sound so bad. Might be nice for SOMEONE to have a normal life in Salem. And what about you, Brady? What will YOU be doing in 10 years? Bumming rides in your sister's Toyota? Babysitting little Shawn Jr. and Shawna?"
"You make it sound like I have no ambitions."
Chloe shrugged slightly. "You do still live with your parents."
"Not for long. Want to help me find an apartment next week?"
Chloe raised her eyebrows. "Really?"
"Yeah, really. I've been wanting to for awhile, and I've got the money and the job, I just need to find a hip and happening place to put the welcome mat in front of."
Chloe smiled slightly. "Well, then I take back what I said about your ambitions. Now, back to what I was asking. You asked me what I'm going to do with my life last night. It's your turn now. Where will YOU be in 10 years?"
Brady grinned and kissed her on the forehead. "Wherever you are."
Chloe nearly choked on her sandwich. "What are you trying to say?"
"Calm down, Chloe. It's not like I'm popping the question this very second. It's just that, as of right now, there is no other person I can imagine spending the rest of my life with. Don't panic, it's just a thought... nothing is written in stone."
Chloe nodded and took a sip of water. "I'm not panicking... I'm just, wow... that's a big thing, you know."
Brady smiled and moved his hand to rest on her knee. "I know. But, we've got lots of time before we even need to start thinking about that stuff."
Chloe looked downward and nibbled on her sandwich again. "Well, it is an interesting thought. So, then I would be Jan Black, Mrs. Black, right? I'd rather it be Chloe..."
"Doesn't matter what it is... and besides, I'm a modern man, you can hyphenate if you want."
Chloe wrinkled her nose up. "Jan Spears-Black? That sounds even worse. So, how many kids do you want?"
"Wait a second... Five seconds ago you were all panicky, and now you're asking me how many kids I want? Have you been introduced to schizophrenia all of a sudden?"
Chloe chuckled and shook her head. "No, I'm just curious... It's a girly thing to talk about your wedding, your children and all that, but without actually WANTING those things right this second."
Brady nodded, still confused. "Then my answer is at least two, four at the most. You?"
"Same. I never had real parents, so I would love to be a really good mother to my own children. One is not enough, and five is totally pushing it. I want kids, but there are boundaries and limits to my patience. What about your career? Do you have a career?"
Brady paused thoughtfully. "I kind of like what I'm doing now. I always thought I'd be a musician, but now I really like working for Basic Black. My dad said he was building this company so that his kids would have something when he was gone, and I think I'd like to take over my dad's business someday. I know Belle won't want to, she's not ruthless enough to be an executive."
Chloe grinned and winked at him. "Plus, you get to wear those sexy business suits all the time. I like the suits."
Brady chuckled and laid down on his back, his head resting on his hands. "Just one of the perks of being a high powered business executive. So, how does it all sound when you put it together? Me, the President of Basic Black with my beautiful, intelligent, absolutely perfect wife the elementary school teacher and our 2 to 4 children. A nice minivan so we can take the kids to soccer practice and for family vacations. We should get a beautiful home with a big piece of land around it, swimming pool, swing set and… a gazebo."
Chloe laid back and rested her head on Brady's chest. She looked at up at him and smiled. "Can we have a puppy?"
"Sure, why not? We can have all the puppies you want. And, on the weekends, you and Belle can do your chick stuff together while Shawn and I play basketball with the kids."
Chloe sighed happily. "And what about Phillip? And Mimi too?"
Brady bit his lip slightly, deep in thought. "Uhmmmmm... I don't know what they're doing. But, they are there, of course. Maybe Mimi will have her own TV talk show, she's perky enough for it. And Phillip will be running Titan, I'm sure."
"And we'll all live happily ever..." Chloe paused and sighed deeply. "Not very likely."
Brady gently stroked a hand through her hair. "Don't say that. Happy endings are possible in this world."
"I wish I could believe that, but look at how everything turns out for most of the people we know. It's just unthinkable that we'll all go on and have these picture perfect lives. It's like when you're 8 years old and you tell your friend that you'll be 'friends forever and ever', and then you're not even speaking to each other 3 years later."
Brady held her closer and stroked her back reassuringly. "You can't think that way, Chloe. I'm not saying that things will always be perfect, but whatever happens we'll come through it. We have before and we will again. I've been shot, Belle was in a coma, Shawn has had his life in danger numerous times, Mimi was homeless, Phillip had a gambling problem..."
Chloe interjected, "I died..."
"Exactly. And we've always bounced back, haven't we? I hate to sound like a cliche, but what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."
Chloe felt a lump in her throat, and a strange gnawing sensation at the back of her brain. For months she had completely pushed away the warning that Keyes had given her. She had tried to enjoy her life, and not worry about the warning, but at this moment his words had come flooding back to her. Chloe began to worry about the consequences of her love with Brady, and she hoped that whatever was to come was just another thing they would bounce back from.
Chloe sighed and pulled herself closer to Brady. "I hope you're right, I really do."
"I am right. Everything will be okay, Chloe."
Chloe silently prayed that he was right. Everything had been going so well lately, that part of her was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. She was waiting for her entire world to be torn apart once more. They laid there together in each other's arms making conversation about happier subjects for the rest of the afternoon. Together they pointed out shapes that they saw in the white fluffy clouds above them, and enjoyed the sounds of the forest. As the sun began to fall, they decided to gather their things and head back to their car before they got stuck up there in the dark.
***
