The dress was blue and cute, vintage, like something from the 1950s. April looked good in it, and it brought out the color in her eyes. But was it too much?
Crystal sipped on a soda while she advised her friend. “Dress for the job you want,” she said with a wink and a smile.
“I’m not looking for a date,” April said.
But Crystal was clearly not buying it. “The dress is adorable,” she said after another quick sip. “It looks like exactly the sort of dress a sexy lumberjack would appreciate.”
April couldn’t help giggling. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Don’t overthink it, girlfriend,” Crystal said. “You look amazing. I say wear that. It’s cute, not too formal, just nice enough to show you care.
April took one more look at herself in the mirror and decided to take her friend’s advice. “Thanks, Crys,” she said. “I don’t know why I’m so nervous all of a sudden.”
“Denial is not just a river in Egypt,” Crystal joked.
April said goodbye to her friend, grabbed her purse, and made a last-minute adjustment to her hair before walking out the door.
The drive to the cabin was as scenic as ever, but April couldn’t seem to get her mind off the upcoming social call. It felt strange to be going there without an excuse, without a reason. But she was also so excited. The visit felt like the beginning of something. In earlier visits, she could always tell herself she was only doing her job, even though part of her knew her visits were not entirely necessary after the first one. Something about being with Cal and Owen quieted her spirit.
She turned her radio off and continued the drive in silence. It wasn’t raining this time, so she was comfortable opening her window and letting a little fresh air into her car. The sounds of the forest were music enough to her.
The cabin itself looked like something out of a novelty painting, she thought. She wouldn’t change a thing about it. She stayed in her car a moment to stare at the scenery. Owen was running around behind the cabin, unaware that she had arrived.
When Cal walked around the cabin and toward her, she realized she could no longer sit and watch them live their lives withoutlooking like a total weirdo. She stepped out of her car and waved. “Hi there!” she called to him. “Long time, no see.”
He shook his head with a smile. “It’s been three days.”
“Well,” she said, “it felt like years to me.”
“You’re too sweet,” he said. Then he called to his son. “Owen! You’re buddy’s here!”
The kid had been running in another direction, and April saw him run in a wide U-turn and make his way excitedly back toward her. “You came!” he said, as though he didn’t already know she was going to be there that day. He really was an adorable kid. When he came close enough, he held up something he had clutched tightly in one hand. “Look what I found!”
For a moment, April was convinced he was going to shove a frog at her, and she was going to have to pretend to be deeply impressed with it. But once he got close enough that she could see what lay in his hands, it became clear it was just a rock. She knelt down to see it better. “What’s that you’ve got there?” she asked.
“It’s for you,” Owen said. “Do you want it?”
“Well, thank you, Owen. How thoughtful.” She took the rock from him and examined it. It was a shiny, reddish-brown color with white stripes going all the way around it. It really was pretty now that she looked at it. “I love it,” she said, and she put it in her purse. “I’ll keep it always.”
Owen’s eyes lit up with pride. “I knew it.” Then he shouted back to his father. “See, Dad? I told you she’d love it, didn’t I? I told you!”
Cal grinned and nodded. “And you were right.” He turned to April to add, “He’s very proud of the rocks he finds. If you stick around, you’ll receive many, many more. So many, in fact, that your purse will be too heavy to lift.” He laughed again, and April thought she’d never heard a more infectious laugh than his. “Come inside,” he said. “We have a surprise for you.”
She followed them into the cabin, Owen bouncing in excitement the whole way, and what she saw inside confused her at first. There were balloons and streamers everywhere. Some had clearly been put up by Owen himself as they were clustered and very close to the ground. In the center of the dining table was an obviously homemade cake with candles placed neatly around the edges. In the center of the cake, written in a shaky hand in frosting, were the words,Happy Birthday, April!
“What’s all this?” she asked with a nervous laugh. “It’s not my birthday.”
Owen was the one who answered. “I know. But you had to work on yours. So, I thought I’d give you mine.”
Cal clarified. “He’s been insisting on it for days. I thought it best not to talk him out of a charitable donation he wanted to make out of the goodness of his heart.”
April arched an eyebrow. “Charitable donation?”
“It’s a birthday gift,” Cal said, pride lacing his words. “He noticed that you had to work on your birthday, so he insisted on giving you his.”
It took all her self-control for April to keep her eyes from welling up. This was probably the sweetest thing any kid had ever done for her. Any person, really. The level of thoughtfulness something like this required was so high for a kid his age. Shecould hardly believe it. “Thank you so much.” She blinked back the tears before they fell and knelt down to accept a hug from Owen. “I’ve never been gifted a whole birthday before.”
When she let Owen go, she saw how proud he was. “I picked out the decorations,” he said.
