“Open it, honey,” he says so sweetly, I have no choice but to melt on the spot.
I grab the bag off the ground, and notice the weight of it. No wonder Delilah was dragging it. I walk over to the dining room table, with Delilah and her dad on my heels.
“How did you get something so fast?” I ask aloud.
“We had tohurry,” Delilah says with exasperation, wiping fake sweat from her brow. When I slice my gaze to Wesley, his shoulders are shaking. He covers his eyes with one hand and shakes his head.
“Smooth, bug.” he tells his very honest daughter.
The smile on my face falls as soon I pull out what’s in the bag. I whip my head over to Wesley with wide eyes.
“Happy Birthday,” he says, and I can tell he’s holding himself back from pulling me into him.
“Wesley…” I trail off, preparing to give him a lecture about how I don’t need this, and I don’t want him to feel like he has to do this. Then I remember my conversation with Sophie just an hour ago, and I take a deep breath and meet Wesley’s eye.
“Thank you. Thank you so much. This is insane. Thank you, Wesley.”
I set the box down and walk over to him, wrapping my arms around his middle, and pressing my cheek to his chest. He squeezes me back hard, and I feel him kiss the top of my head.
“You’re welcome,” he whispers.
I feel a tiny body collide with my butt, and I look down to see Delilah hugging my legs from behind.
“Daddy said it’s because your computer is a dinosaur and you’ll like writing more on this one,” she says, her voice muffled by my butt cheek.
I laugh and bury my face into Wesley’s shirt, and bring one hand behind me to hold Delilah’s head with my hand, attempting to hug them both.
“He’s right, it is a dinosaur,” I agree. “I love it so much. Thank you, you guys.”
“You’re welcome,” Delilah replies, and gives me one final squeeze from behind before releasing me. “Now the next part!” she demands.
“The next part?” I pull back from Wesley and crane my neck to look at him with an arched brow.
“Go get some comfortable clothes on.” is all he says.
————
“Where are we going?” I ask the two conspirators from the passenger seat of Wesley’s truck.
Wesley responds by bringing his finger to his lips, and looking at Delilah in the rearview mirror, gesturing for her to keep quiet. She giggles uncontrollably, and I turn in my seat to give her the stink eye, feigning irritation, which only makes her laugh harder.
We don’t head in the direction of town, but further into the property. After ten or so minutes, we start to ascend, following the dirt road up a tree lined hill. The forest surrounds us on either side, and I can’t tell where we’re going. I’ve never been this far out here, and I start to wonder if this “hill” is actually a mountain.
Just like the lake is actually a “pond.”
We drive slowly for a few more minutes, before the truck levels out onto a clearing. Wesley drives into the middle of the clearing, and puts the truck in park, before shutting off the engine.
I look around, and see nothing but grass, trees, and nature. I glance at Wesley with a questioning look, but he just smiles and hops out before rounding the hood, and opening my door. He helps me out, then does the same for Delilah.
Delilah seems to know the drill, and walks to the back of the truck and waits for her dad to lower the tailgate. When he does I’m shocked to see the bed of the truck covered in pillows and blankets. It looks like there's even a thin mattress cover lining the bed as well.
It’s obvious Delilah was in charge of decorating, seeing as almost every single one of her stuffed animals are lined against the walls. A mixture of her character themed throw blankets, and blankets from the hall closet are laid out, with a mountain of pillows stacked against where the back windshield is, and two coolers sit off to the side.
I stand there dumb struck, and look to Wesley and Delilah for an explanation. Wesley lifts Delilah into the bed, and then looks down at his watch to check the time, and then over his shoulder.
“It’s time,” he says as he holds out a hand to help me up and join Delilah.
I don’t ask him anymore questions, and let him help me up. I crawl over to where Delilah is laying against the pillows and lay down next to her.
