"But they sure are pretty. Let's get closer."
I manoeuvred his stroller down the path, but it was gravel instead of concrete which made it difficult. Not to mention the people in the way who weren't really paying attention to a stroller behind them. A couple people even shot me a nasty glance as if to saywhy are you bringing this giant bulky baby-carrying vehicle through here?
Even though I knew it wasn't my fault, I couldn't blame them. I tried not to imagine how much easier it would be if I had a big, strong alpha partner, one who could carry Andrew in his arms and never get tired. Then I wouldn't need to lug this stroller around.
Well, I didn'thavea big strong alpha. I had myself. So I had to stop mentally whining and deal with it.
But that proved to be harder than expected. Couples were everywhere, walking around with their hands linked and posing for pictures with their arms around each other and kissing beneath the trees. Geez, was I the only person here without a partner?
"Ya!" Andrew cried.
I glanced down at my son. He was waving his chubby little arms, trying to catch falling petals but lacking the coordination.
"You want a petal?" I asked. "Here, I'll try to get you one."
Cherry blossom petals danced in the sky, filling the air with their delicate floral scent. Each time a breeze ruffled the trees, a few petals fluttered down. I tried to grab one with my hand but it eluded my grasp.
"Oops," I said. "Daddy can't do it either."
Andrew giggled. It was always funny to him when Daddy was incapable of something.
From the corner of my eye, I saw a man reach up and clap a petal between his hands, the exact thing I'd just failed to do. There was a smaller man next to him who appeared to be his partner who congratulated him and touched his arm. The man who'd caught the petal reached down and handed it to his child, who was around the same age as Andrew. They were all one big happy smiling family.
Jealousy lanced through me.
I looked away and shook my head to clear my thoughts. The pain in my chest urged me to walk on.
I weaved Andrew's stroller through the crowd as best I could. All the best trees were surrounded by people, making it impossible to get close enough to lift Andrew up into the blossoms to smell them. We had to settle for appreciating them from a distance.
It seemed like all I did was appreciate things from a distance lately...
No. Nope. No negativity, Ryan.
New tactic. I wheeled Andrew towards a nearby hill with less people. Even if we weren't up close and personal with the cherry blossoms, we could still have a nice picnic and look at them from far away. That was a decent consolation prize.
"You want a snack, buddy?" I asked Andrew.
"Ya!"
At least Andrew wasn't bothered. I was glad about that. I loved his upbeat attitude, especially during what everyone called the terrible twos. He wasn't quite terrible. Yet.
Picking a nice spot on the hill, I held Andrew's stroller tightly with one hand, then set down a blanket and some containers filled with snacks. Then I picked him up and placed him on the blanket.
A crashing sound came from behind me, followed by a couple shrieks.
"Uh oh!" Andrew said.
Dread was already pooling in my gut as I turned around.
The stroller was gone. It had sped down the hill, tumbled over itself, and crashed into a park bench, making the people sitting on it leap up and scatter. A few of them were glaring at me.
My cheeks heated with shame. In my scatterbrained state, I'd completely forgotten about the laws of gravity.
"Oh, firetruck," I muttered. It was the closest thing I got to a swear word around Andrew. "Sorry!" I called to the people at the bottom of the hill.
"Stoyer go bye-bye," Andrew said, pointing to the stroller.
"It sure did. We should go get it, huh?"
