“Okay, now, I want to see,” Foster says.
“Not happening,” Knox, Landry, and Reid all chorus at the same time.
“What’s not happening?” Corie asks, walking into the room.
“Nothing, Corie girl,” Knox says, snaking his arm around her waist.
“Fess up, Beckett.” She smiles up at him.
“Oh, I was just telling them how talented Sloane is because they were complimenting the cake. I told them they should see what she made us.” Rowan grins.
“Oh, it’s this—” Corie starts, but Knox places his hand over her lips.
“I think this birthday boy is losing steam,” Sloane says, entering the room with Camden on her hip. He’s resting his head against her shoulder.
He’s already had time at the park. We came back and immediately opened gifts and took what feels like a million pictures, at the insistence of the ladies present—not that I minded. I want to have pictures to show him how loved he is when he’s old enough to really understand how many people are in his corner. “I can take him,” I tell her, moving to take him from her arms, but she turns to stop me. “He’s fine, Daddy. Carry on with whatever,” she says. She glances around and sees the cake. “Cam, buddy, do you want some cake?” she asks my son.
“Cake?” He lifts his head and surveys the room. “Daddy, cake.”
“Do you want some birthday cake?” I ask him as Bellamy and Amanda join us in the kitchen.
“Swoan, cake,” he says, placing his tiny hands on her cheeks to get her attention.
“Guess what?” she says, her eyes lighting up with excitement. “You have one just for you.”
“Cam.” He points at his chest, and she beams a proud smile at him.
“That’s right.” She grins.
“Come on, bud. Let’s get you set up in your chair for some cake.” Camden looks at Sloane almost as if he’s asking for permission. She kisses his cheek and hands him off to me. While I get him set up in his highchair, she grabs the smaller cake that’s just his and adds a number two candle, lighting it before carrying it our way.
“‘Happy Birthday—’” she starts to sing, holding the cake and the lit candle just out of his reach, but keeping it where he can see it, as we all join her in singing “Happy Birthday” to my boy.
When the song ends, she places the cake on the tray of his highchair and tells him to blow. As I bend my head, she and I must have the same idea because we softly blow with him as the candle flame disappears, and we both praise him for doing such a great job. My eyes find hers, and she smiles. It’s a genuine, happy smile, and it lights up the entire room.
Quickly, Sloane grabs the candle and places it on a small paper plate that Corie hands her. “Okay, little man, it’s all yours. Take a bite,” she encourages my son.
Camden grins and does as he’s told, grabbing a fistful of cake and shoving it into his mouth, and we all laugh.
“Smile!” Bellamy, who has been our official photographer for the day, says. She points her camera our way, and Sloane steps out of the picture.
“Stay,” I whisper, at the same time reaching out and placing my hand on her arm. “You’re a part of this day, Sloane.”
She nods and turns to crouch down next to Camden, while I do the same on the other side, and we smile for the camera. Once Bellamy is satisfied, we take a step back, letting everyone have a chance to get their picture with my messy cake-eating boy.
“Ladies,” I say, clearing my throat. “Thank you for today. It’s better than I could have ever dreamed up on my own. You made this day special for him, for both of us, and I can’t thank you enough,” I say, fumbling over my words.
“It was a group effort, and we were happy to help,” Bellamy tells me. “I can’t wait to get the pictures with all of us in our jerseys.” She beams.
“You and that fancy camera,” Amanda teases her.
“Hey, I’m a mom now. I need this fancy camera to capture all the moments, and the remote is nice for when it’s just the three of us at home, and I need to get us all in the shot. It came in handy today, too,” Bellamy says with excitement in her voice.
“I guess we’re going to need to get us one of those,” Knox tells Corie.
“I have one.” I shrug. “I don’t use it much because I’m not sure how. I mostly just use my phone.”
“I’ll show you,” Sloane tells me. “I took a photography class in college as an elective.”
