Kristie Haapanen was eying up some chocolate chip cookies that she was packing in her child's lunch pack. They were soft and chewy, just one bite wouldn't hurt right? She felt her mouth begin to water at the thought of how tasty they were when she felt two hands clamp around her hips, causing her to send the cookies flying as she jumped out of her skin and squealed.
"You!" she glared at her husband, as she turned to face her tormentor. She had to sweep a stray strand of brown hair that no doubt fainted out of place from the fright.
"Don't worry Kristie, it's just one more day," Vivi said as he doubled over with laughter. "Then I promise you, you can eat all the cookies you want. Heck I'll even buy you some cookies if you don't want to bake them." He paused as his wife puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms at him. "Calm down sweetie, you know how competitive the Vaimokanta is. And it was your idea to enter it. I said you didn't have to, but you insisted."
"I know..." she grunted as she turned to pick up the fragments of cookies on the ground. She remained silent as she put the fragments in the garbage before jumping on her husband's back. "At least your reflexes are good," she chuckled as she rested her head on his.
"Well, considering the castration your sister threatened if I hurt you or made you cry, I think that's reason enough never to drop you to the ground," he said with a shiver.
"My family isn't that bad," she giggled. "Missi is just overprotective of her big sister. At least she's not going to be at Vaimokanta, because you'd definitely get the blame for making me cry there if I don't win."
"No pressure then," he gulped.
"You're so cute when you're flustered," she giggled as she poked his cheeks and lowered herself back to the ground. "But we should probably get ready to go soon. Lateness would be another reason to not win and me crying. I can finish packing Jari's lunch for tomorrow when we get back."
"How much do you weigh now?" Vivi asked, a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.
"Sixty eight kilos..." she answered almost inaudibly.
"Congrats, you lost some weight at least, so it wasn't a complete failure," he gave a hearty laugh before hugging his wife.
The couple got into their CUV and made their way about 20 minutes away to a large open field. Once parked there, they saw a sandy, two lane course with several hurdles and two water pools. One of the pools was near the finish line where crowds were gathering and a huge scoreboard had been erected. Near the start was a gathered crowd of women getting their weights and numbers. Some of the women had backpacks, but most of them didn't.
"Sophie?" she questioned a woman as she approached the desk.
"Oh, Krisite, fancy meeting you here," Sophie's response wasn't at all very thrilling.
"You don't seem happy to be here," Kristie commented.
"Eh, not really," Sophie shrugged, "Kennen Io asked to help raise money for the Children's Orchestral Fund, and it's a good reason, so why not."
"Where is Kennen then?" Kristie asked as she scanned the crowd.
Sophie pointed to a group of gathered men about halfway down the course near the first pool of water, "Over there, no doubt they're talking about prize weight.
"I see," Kristie said as she moved to the weigh-in station. She weighed at sixty seven kilos and handed a bib with the number 675.
"Well your prize is a bit more than mine," Sophie chortled. "At least we don't need to wear the rucksacks. Though how do you weigh less than 49kgs and be healthy is beyond me." She paused a moment, "Well I do, Xelhan women are just bigger on average, due to height, but then again, even Raine isn't 49kgs either."
"She might be now to fit into her Communal wedding dress," Kristie chuckled.
"That was rude," Sophie giggled, "but probably appropriate."
A man dressed in green and gold left the table and with a sheet of paper in his hand approached the starting line. "Thank you ladies and gentlemen for coming out to our 174th Annual Vaimokanta!" The crowd and gathered participants let out a cheer before he continued. "As per customs, we run heats of two with the overall fastest time earning the title of Vaimokanta Champion and receiving the weight in refreshments! Last year's champion is not here, Mrs Keno being pregnant and not wishing to subject the baby to such stresses of competition, so we will have a new champion this year! May the best couple win!"
The men gathered in the center of the course returned to the start lines to pair off with the women. "We got this right? I lost 5 kilos just to make your job easier."
"Of course," Vivi grinned. "Two hundred fifty meters in 60 seconds, just you hang on tight."
"For my weight in cookies and chocolate, you better believe I'll hang on. Just like I'm sure you'll run your fastest to win my weight in beer," she responded with a grin as they watched the first two couples move to the start. She took a glance at her husband who was carefully observing the first runners. They'd give him the final clues he'd need to complete a fast and successful carry.242Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpOsubwmchI
