“I’m sorry, I was so busy getting things for your party! Happy Birthday, baby.”
“Thanks! Grandma let me have cake for breakfast!”
My heart sinks slightly and I lock eyes with Mom as she walks through the door. “Cake?” I ask stiffly.
“Yes,” she replies, looking away from me. “Someone had to make sure he was celebrated.”
She’s baiting me and likely annoyed that I wasn’t here this morning, but I don’t have the patience left to give her the usual space. “Are you kidding me?”
“Wanna see your party room?” Stacey interjects, and she takes Nick from my arms, flashing me a wink and then taking Nick into the living room. His delighted cries warm my heart as Mom pulls off her gloves.
“I don’t see what the problem is.”
“The problem is you gave a six-year-old cake for breakfast, Mom. All that sugar? He’s going to crash in the middle of his party andget cranky. I’ve told you this. You were supposed to take him for a decent breakfast to make up for the party.”
“And you were supposed to be here this morning, but you weren’t,” she shoots back, finally looking at me. “Where were you?”
“I was getting stuff for the party.”
“Really? Then why wasn’t your bed slept in?”
“I made it.”
“You don’t make your bed.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Calliope—”
“No, Mom. This is ridiculous. I wanted Nick here all day but you wouldn’t stop complaining, so I agreed you could take him for breakfast under one condition. A condition you broke. Tell me again why I should trust you?”
“This is my house!” she snaps, slamming one hand down on the table. “You can’t tell me what to do!”
“And Nick ismyson,” I snap right back. “Your time with him is a privilege, not a right, do you hear me? If I can’t trust you with him, then I’ll be revoking that privilege.”
My words burn in my throat and come out far harsher than I intend, but guilt doesn’t come until I leave the kitchen and walk into the hall.
I didn’t mean to say it like that but the words just came out before I could stop them, and there is some truth to them. Relying on Stacey is only a necessity because I can’t trust mymom, but it goes deeper than that. The truth doesn’t settle in my heart until several hours later when the party is in full swing.
Party music blares from my phone set up near the speaker and the living room is filled with a handful of children dancing and yelling at each other over the games console I set up with the TV. Nick is in the middle of a circle with a party crown on his head loudly telling his friends how we’re going on a holiday to the jungle in the summer. A half-truth, as I said I would take him to a theme park, but I let him tell it how he chooses. Mom lingers near the snack table keeping a somewhat decent eye on ensuring no one overeats, and Stacey stands next to me with a glass of orange juice.
“So?” she says finally, her voice low under the music. “You want to tell me what happened now?”
“Honestly? I don’t even know. I had to pick Elijah up from jail.”
“Jail?” Despite how quiet she spoke, the word seems to catch Mom’s attention on the other side of the room so I speak softer.
“It’s a long story, but I picked him up and I was pissed about that work thing.”
“Where they were accusing you of stealing?”
“Exactly. So I kind of ripped into him in the car but he didn’t deny it, and then he was begging me to come up to his hotel room to talk.”
“Talk?” She lifts one brow. “All night?”
“Hey!” I elbow her softly. “We did talk. He explained it all and honestly, to his credit… it did make sense, y’know? The long and short of it is that he was trying to clear me of suspicion, but then he told me he signed a deal and he’s technically my boss now.”
Stacey’s eyes narrow playfully. “Ooh, that’s kind of hot. Sleeping with the boss?” She quickly licks her lower lip. “You saucy dog.”
