“But it isn’t my birthday,” Owen said, confused but hopeful as he stepped into the apartment.
“I know,” April told him. “You gave your birthday to me, so I decided to throw you a party. Do you like it?”
Owen took one look at the decorations and cried out, “Wow! This is amazing!” He was a blur of color, darting around the place to see all of it in record time.
“We walk indoors, chief,” Cal reminded him. Owen slowed down but took deliberately giant steps to cover as much ground as possible with each step.
“Look at this cake!” Owen shouted when he found the dining table. “Dad, look! Is this really for me?” He looked to April for an answer.
“We’re all going to share the cake, but it’s absolutely for you. It’s your birthday, your cake, and your presents.”
The boy’s eyes lit up, and his father couldn’t help but beam from the doorway. “I have a present hidden in the truck. I’ll be right back.” He left to go collect his gift.
As soon as Cal was gone, April pulled Owen aside. “Just between you and me,” she said, “one of those presents is for your dad, but I don’t want him to know just yet. It’s our portrait we took at the playground. Remember? I was thinking you might want to give it to him.”
“Yeah, I do!” Owen was bouncing on his toes. A kid who was as excited to give a gift as he was to receive one was a kid April was proud to know.
“Perfect,” she said. “The code word is going to bestupendous. Can you remember that?”
He nodded.
“OK. When I saystupendous, you go get the present and hand it to him. It’s the one with the red ribbon. Got it?”
Again, Owen nodded. He was clearly taking this very seriously. April thought it was too adorable for words. They shook on it, and then Owen took off to tell Crystal all about everything he had already done that morning.
Before long, the door opened, and Nathan sauntered into the apartment with Cal following close behind him. “Look who I found trying to escape,” Nathan said, laughing. “Don’t worry, though, I dragged him back.” He had a gift wrapped in green paper that he set on the table with the others. “Happy birthday, kid!” he said to Owen.
Cal also added a gift to the table before joining the rest of them in the living room. “This is a nice place,” he said.
“Do you want the tour?” April asked.
“Sure.”
“It’ll be quick,” she said with a chuckle. “It’s not very big.” She showed him the kitchen, the bathroom, and finally, her bedroom. She’d cleaned it the day before, so it was definitely looking its best. When they were in her bedroom, she took the opportunity to kiss him. It felt good, kissing him on her home turf. “Maybe you can spend the night here sometime,” she said.
Cal shrugged. “Or maybe we can get a place.”
The comment was so out of left field that she didn’t really register it at first. When she finally realized what she was hearing, she froze on the spot. She had no idea how to respond. It was so totally unexpected. She’d known better than to hope for things to move that quickly so early on. “Really?” she asked, incredulous.
“Owen convinced me to be brave,” Cal said, and he wrapped his arms around her one more time. “Maybe not right away, you know. But I’m ready to consider the possibility in the near future. I seem to be falling pretty hard for you, Nurse April.”
Now she was sure her whole face was bright red. “Same,” she said, dizzy from the effects of his gaze and his kiss. After several blissful minutes in his arms, she finally remembered why they were there. “We should go sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to your son,” she said.
“I suppose,” he said, sighing a bit. But April knew he loved all of it.
She went to the kitchen to light the candles on the cake, and then they all gathered around the dining table to sing to Owen. It felt so nearly like having a family that April came close to tears. She managed to hold them back, though, saying, “Now make a wish before you blow them out.”
Owen closed his eyes really tight and seemed to concentrate hard on his birthday wish. When he’d made his wish, he opened his eyes again. “OK, I’m ready.”
“Now you have to blow them all out.” April helped him to stand on one of the chairs and then she stood behind him, holding his shoulders to keep him from falling. She counted to three, and while Owen blew his birthday candles, April leaned over him and gave him a little behind-the-scenes help. When all the candles were out, everyone at the table applauded, Owen included. Then Crystal grabbed a knife to cut them each a slice.
“Cake, then presents,” April said, and she winked at Owen, who did his best to wink back.
They all sat around the table, chatted, and ate cake while April moved the gifts onto the coffee table in the living room. Her apartment was full of people, and she loved it that way.
When the living room was ready, she called everyone in, and they watched Owen open his birthday presents. Crystal had gotten him a toy train set, which he loved, and Nathan had gotten him a board game, which they planned to play later. Finally, he opened his father’s present, which turned out to be a new set of warm, dinosaur-print pajamas. He immediately begged to put them on, and Cal allowed it.
“It’s your day, chief,” he said. “You can wear pajamas all day if you want to.”
