Laughter bubbles up from Colt’s chest with a brilliant smile and he asks, “What is all this?”
“Birthday breakfast!” Macie shouts. Pointing to each item on the table, she says, “We made you art because you like art so much! And RoRo said you only eat the glazed kind of donuts so we got those.” She sounds less than impressed about the choice in donuts – because she is.
He pulls Macie toward him in a tight hug and extends his arm to me, which I don’t hesitate to dive under, pulling myself close to him and breathing him in as he snakes his arm around me. His lips find mine in a gentle kiss and he pulls away, smiling.
“This is great,” he says. “Thank you.”
“I have another gift for you later,” I whisper to him as Macie runs off to grab a donut from the table. “But you have to wait.”
We sit together at the table, munching on our sugary treats while Macie and I explain our artwork to Colt, and of course, the inspiration behind it all. His face lights up asMacie talks through her painting, explaining who all is in it, because as good as she did on it, you can’t tell who is who without a little direction.
I watch as he snaps a quick picture of the painting to send to Emmett, who is thankfully coming around a bit more to visit and seems to be a lot more okay with our relationship. We’ve even been having lunch together at work again. Just, not in my car with mascara all over my face. That part is a welcome change.
After cleaning up our dishes, I help Colt carry his new art pieces toward our room. My eyes scan over all of the new photos lining the halls, right along with the ones of him and Emmett.
Pictures of the two of us in Milan and London – I spent most of that trip in bed, but Colt never made me feel bad about it for a second - some of Emmett and Macie together, some with the three of us. There are even a few with all four of us. Happiness and fulfillment radiate through me as I pass the memories captured and set out for anyone and everyone to see.
I wanted Macie to have a safe, happy family to grow up in, and now she has it.
Colt wanted to be happy and live a more normal life, and now he has it.
I wanted to be loved, and now I have it.
There is nothing in the world that could take this from us.
•
I tell Colt that we’re going on a date night at his collective, that it would be nice for him to find a new piece of art to bring home for his birthday, but when we open the massive double doors, cheers erupt from his friends as they yell ‘surprise!’ and shoot off confetti cannons in our direction.
Davis approaches, laughing at his best friend’s shock, and he grabs his hand before pulling him into a big, crushing hug.
“Happy birthday, ya old bastard,” he tells him before turning to me and pulling me in for an equally tight hug.
“It looks great in here!” I say. “Thank you for all your help.”
“Oh, it was nothin’ darlin’.”
Colt turns to me with mock betrayal written all over his face. “You sneaky, sneaky, woman.”
“You can still pick out a piece,” I shrug, holding back my laughter.
Davis moves behind him and slaps his hands down on Colt’s shoulders. “Come on! We’re drinking!”
Shoving Colt forward, the two of them disappear in the direction of the bar, and I head to the dessert table to make sure everything looks how it should – especially the cake.
The tiny foods laid out are kind of meant as an inside joke, they aren’t the main focus; and once I give everything my seal of approval, I find a glass of water and a place to sit while Colt is off drinking with his friends. He never lets loose, and it’s his birthday, so this is one time I really hope to see him just go hog wild and let it all out.
Maybe fifteen minutes later, Davis approaches me, looking nervous, and he grabs my shoulder.
“There’s a problem with the music,” he tells me, inclining his head to follow him.
Great.
I stand and let him lead me toward the music setup. I knew I should have just hired a party planning team for this, I don’t know anything about sound systems. But this place only ever has live music and it’s all so very...billionaire-y.
I wanted to make it fun, so I rented a system to play music through some giant speakers. If this ruins Colt’s party, I swear to god…
We step onto the stage and I lean over the main...control board…thingie…the thing I have no idea what to do with, how to use or how to fix if it breaks? Yeah, that part. It looks fine to my untrained eye, and the music isn’t skipping like it was before.
