“Definitely. I’m already planning my and Isabella’s costumes. Which brings me to my next point.”
“You have points?”
“Yes, I’m an organized person who enjoys making lists. Focus.”
“I can respect that,” Will told her. “I, myself, prefer things to be well organized.”
“Well, this will be as organized as a party with twelve six-year-olds can be.”
“Twelve? How many did we invite in total?”
“Fifteen. Twelve have responded already. The others still have some time to reply, so we might end up with all of them. Plus her cousins.”
“That seems like a rather big party, isn’t it?”
“Yes, maybe a little, but we couldn’t just not invite some of the girls from her class last year. At this age, it’s kind of an all or nothing situation. But we didn’t invite any boys.”
“Well, that’s a relief. I’d hate to see how you’d want to dress them up.”
“Haha. I’m not in the habit of emasculating young boys.”
“Just thirty-something men?”
“Yep. Now, back to my next point,” Amy said. “I need your credit card.”
“Okay. I’ll give it to you tomorrow when I come by to see the spot you found.”
“I really wish you’d give me a budget for this party. I don’t want you to get your credit card statement and fall over from shock.”
“Exactly how much do you think it might run?” Will wasn’t at all worried about being shocked at the cost of the party. He’d already decided he’d pay whatever it took to give Isabella the party of her dreams. He knew he was supposed to be cutting back on indulging her, but it seemed important to still give her this.
“I don’t know for sure, but definitely not over a thousand. Maybe not even five hundred.”
“That’s fine. Just buy whatever you need to make this party memorable for her. Don’t cut corners. If you want something, buy it. Don’t worry about the cost. Believe me, unless you’re buying her a brand new car, my credit card can handle the cost.”
“I won’t disappoint you. I think you’ll see that you got your money’s worth.”
“Seriously, Amy, I’m not worried about that. Just have fun and buy what you need.”
“Sorry, I’m just not used to operating without a budget or keeping an eye on the bottom line.”
“Well, enjoy yourself,” Will told her. He leaned back in his chair, stretching his legs out. “And I don’t want to hear anything more about money.”
Amy sighed. “Okay.”
“Do you have any more points we need to discuss?”
“No, I think that was it.” Amy paused then said, “Do you find Isabella’s birthday difficult because her mom died the same day?”
Will was a bit surprised by Amy’s question, and it took him a few seconds to come up with a response. “Actually, Delia didn’t die on Isabella’s birthday. After she collapsed, they put her on life support. She was on that for two weeks, in hopes of giving the baby more time. Unfortunately, herblood pressure began to climb, and soon it wasn’t safe for Isabella to be inside. They ended up delivering her just before midnight. We discussed it and made the decision to wait until the next day to take Delia off the life support. Everyone agreed that it would be better for Isabella to not have her birthday be the same day as her mom’s death.”
“I didn’t realize that. I’m sorry, by the way, for your loss. I’m not sure I ever told you that.”
“Thank you. It’s been a long road, but I think things are changing. And it’s partly due to you.”
There was a beat of silence before Amy asked, “Me?”
“Yes. I’ve seen how Isabella is with you and realized that I haven’t been the parent I should have been with her. I’ve had my reasons—none of which are really valid—but I’m working to change that now. She’s just soaked up the love you shower on her. She’s not even your child, and you love her. I knew I needed to do better. She deserves that.”
