Yesterday I’d gone for a walk around the block, just to kill some time and stretch my leg. I was trying to recover without surgery. I wasn’t a professional athlete anymore, so I didn’t need it to be perfect, just liveable so recovery was going to be slower than I liked, but at least it gave me something to focus on. Besides, I wasn’t going to be training every day anymore, but I might as well try and keep in shape otherwise I’d turn into a fat blob.
Thankfully, Phoebe’s birthday party was this weekend, which meant each morning I found a to-do list left on the kitchen bench. Today’s list was longer than others, but it was obvious Elise wanted this to be the best three-year-old’s birthday party the world had ever seen.
After tidying up, I changed into a pair of jeans and a hoodie, grabbed my keys and headed to the adult version of the party supply shop. Forty-five minutes later, I was walking out of the grog shop, my wallet two hundred dollars lighter, pushing a trolley filled with everything an adult could possibly need to survive a bunch of screaming three-year-old’s. Beer, wine and enough hard liquor there was a chance we wouldn’t be feeling much of anything at all.
With the party only an hour away, my house looked like a unicorn had thrown up in there. Everything was covered in pink and purple and glitter. I had no idea how I was supposed to get the glitter out of my carpet once this was over, but I’d deal with that later. Right now, I had to calm Elise down before she gave herself a heart attack.
“It’s ruined!” she cried as she stared down at the cake on the bench.
Somehow, it’d got knocked and now one of the unicorn’s eyes was an inch lower than the other.
“It’s not ruined. It’s fine. She won’t even notice,” I attempted to reassure her, pinning the last of the streamers up, rounding the corner and stepping in behind her.
“I’ll notice,” she whined.
The devastation on her face was heartbreaking. She’d worked so hard to make today perfect, she couldn’t see that no matter what the cake looked like, it was a success. “I’m sure it will taste delicious.”
Spinning her around, my hands rested on her hips. “Thank you for doing this, Elise.”
“Yes, thank you, Elise,” Sienna said loudly as she made her presence known, ruining my chance of a quickie.
Princess Phoebe came barrelling towards me, almost knocking me off my feet. “Happy birthday, Princess.” I greeted her blowing a raspberry on her cheek and earning me a fit of giggles.
For the next hour, I escaped out to the veranda, leaned back and enjoyed a beer with my dad and brother’s-in-law. Proud father Josh didn’t once take his eyes off Ari and their new son Connor who were sitting quietly in the corner. Apparently, I’d missed all the drama of her water breaking in the grandstand, not that I was sorry about it, but thankfully everyone was happy and healthy.
Inside, Jax had been bribed, not that I think it was very hard. He was on his knees, his hair full of glitter, and a sleep mask covering his eyes, surrounded by squawking three-year-old girls playing pin the horn on the unicorn.
Elise hadn’t stopped. She flitted from person to person, offering them food and refilling their drinks. When I’d offered to help, she’d shooed me away and told me to relax and enjoy it. Now she was in the kitchen, poking candles into the cake.
Crying started and everyone froze. I was the first to see Phoebe lying face down on the tiles, her chocolate crackle smashed in her hand. Hunter handed me his beer and made a beeline towards his screaming daughter. It was her party and she was going to cry if she wanted to. Or howl, as the case may be.
Scooping her up in one motion, he settled her in his arms. She didn’t have a scratch on her. It was probably more a reaction than anything.
“What’s wrong, Princess?” he asked gently. “Where did you hurt?”
He was fascinating. Hunter could be an intimidating beast when he wanted to be, but Phoebe had him wrapped around her little finger.
Her bottom lip trembled as fat tears dripped from her chubby cheeks. She pointed to her hands, and Hunter dusted them off before kissing each palm. “Better now?”
Phoebe nodded and wriggled in his arms. Hunter set her down carefully and watched as she scampered off towards the kitchen.
“Aunty Elise?”
Elise’s eyes shot to mine. We’d never talked about her being an aunty or being called that, and I think Phoebe caught her off guard. Offering her a casual shrug, I couldn’t help but smile. She might not be an aunty right now, but that was just a technicality. One I knew I’d rectify when the time was right.
“Yes, Phoebe?” Elise asked, squatting down to meet her eye level. It was no wonder she was a teacher. She was a natural with kids.
“You forgot to give me a cuddle,” Phoebe complained, her bottom lip trembling again.
Elise’s beautiful face cracked. It was like Phoebe’s words completely destroyed her. “Oh, sweetheart,” she cooed, sweeping Phoebe off her feet and into her arms before hugging her tightly.
When Dad clapped his hand on my shoulder, I was forced to look away from my girls. “She’s a keeper,” he stated matter-of-factly.
“I know.”
After Phoebe was satisfied, Elise finished organising the cake before summoning Sienna and Hunter over to light the candles and lead the singing. She’d done all the work but was stepping into the shadows for the big moment.
Leaving them to argue over whether or not they should give their daughter a knife, Elise herded everyone into the lounge room. Somehow, I managed to snag a chair in the corner and immediately dragged Elise into my lap. She’d been in my house all day, and I hadn’t managed to get my hands on her. Something that needed to be rectified, and I couldn’t wait any longer.
