I hold out my hand so I can take a look at the card. It’s simple withLove you, Sis!on the front in rainbow colors, while the inside contains a few lines of his chicken scratch.
Happy birthday, Paisley. I’m sorry I can’t be there with you right now, but I hope you have fun at your party. I’m so proud of you, and I can’t wait to see what you do this year. Love you, Cam.
I’m not sure what it feels like for ovaries to weep, but I think mine do, and I stuff the card back into the envelope as Paisley opens her gifts. The first is a new laptop, which has her excitedly hopping on her toes, telling me how she’ll be able to video chat with Ava on it instead of using an iPad, and I have to bite my cheek so I don’t give away the big gift. Next, she opens a box with the latest trendy sneakers, and then a third with a belt bag that she loves. She immediately transfers her cell phone, lip gloss, and hair ties to it but promptly forgets about it when the door opens.
When she recognizes who it is, Paisley throws herself across the room at her best friend, hugging and crying and shrieking. Behind them, Ava’s parents, Hank and Kate, step inside with their eight-year-old son, Bryson. I wave to them, careful to step around the girls to shake their hands, and formally introduce myself.
“This is amazing,” Kate signs, moving to my side. “I really can’t thank you enough for doing this.”
“It wasn’t me. It was all Camden.”
“I don’t think Ava’s slept the last two days, she’s been so excited to come.” Her eyes turn glassy as she watches her daughter and Paisley talk, hands moving at the same time, both of them repeating over and over how they can’t believe it andhow much they’ve missed the other and that they love each other. Makes me tear up a little too.
“I’m just happy it all worked out. Why don’t we sit?”
Kate nods and motions for Hank and Bryson to sit at the large circular table. The girls follow, but they’re too busy catching up to really pay attention to anything else.
We take our time over our food, since Ava and Paisley do more chatting than eating, both of them only taking a break when the server brings in the cake, and we all sign and sing “Happy Birthday.” We dig into the four layers of chocolate with chocolate mousse in between and cascading flowers on the outside. I clean my plate of it as Kate explains how Ava and Paisley have been friends since they met at a Deaf camp, and while they’re from Des Moines and the Longs lived in Cedar Falls, they made sure to get the girls together as often as possible. Kate was born deaf and understands how important it is to build a community for her Deaf daughter.
“We were all so devastated about the accident,” Kate signs, after sipping on her second mimosa. “I think of Paisley as one of my own, and I’ve been sick to my stomach ever since. How has she been doing?”
“Good.” I wipe my mouth with the linen napkin before continuing to sign. “Or as good as can be expected, I suppose. She’s doing well in school, and I try to keep her as busy as possible with different things around the city. She started taking an art class on Saturday mornings. We’ve seen a show at the Kimmel Center. We cook together and watch movies with popcorn every Friday.”
Kate smiles as Ava shows Paisley something on her cell phone that makes both of them crack up. “And you said you’re a teacher?”
I recross my legs under the table. Aside from the weekly check-in with my parents, no one has asked me about my career. “I was. I taught learning support at a high school in Jersey.”
“You live close?”
I shrug. “About an hour away. I’m living with my brother right now while I help Camden and Paisley out.”
“It’s incredible that you stepped up the way you have.” When I try to wave off the compliment, she taps my wrist for my attention before she signs. “Not everyone would give up their life the way you have.”
I stare at my nearly empty mimosa glass, an orange slice barely clinging to the edge. I didn’t give up much. Besides oncoming depression and my students. Other than that, I didn’t have much else in my one-bedroom apartment. No boyfriend, no pets, not even a plant.
Here, though, I’ve gained so much. I’m happy, and I feel like I can finally see a path for myself in the future, something in special education administration. Making sure every child has their needs met from the top.
“I appreciate you and what you’re doing,” Kate continues. “And I know Lori and Ken would feel the same way.”
I clear my throat of the sudden thickness there, surreptitiously dabbing at the corners of my eyes. “Thank you.”
After a moment, she points to her empty glass and signs, “Do you think it would be okay if I had another mimosa?”
I break out in a big laugh. “Definitely.”
Later, we pile into a limo to take us to the stadium, where we’re met by a woman in a suit, who leads us to a suite only for us, filled with more food, drinks, and a few pieces of signed memorabilia. Bryson freaks out about the football with the signatures of what looks like the entire Founders team on it.
Hank snaps videos and pictures of everything, including a selfie of him in his Detroit jersey, and when I notice, I volunteer to take it for him, making sure to include as much of the stadium as possible in the background.
“So you’re not a Founders fan, huh?” I tease verbally, handing his phone back.
“Never was, but this might change my mind.” Then he turns to watch the pregame stuff happening on the field, thecheerleaders dancing while the small fife and drum corps plays. The eagle mascot wearing a colonial military uniform runs around, pumping up the crowd. On the jumbotron, fans wave and cheer, beer is spilled, and a stomach flashes with Erik’s name painted on it.
Beside me, Hank makes a curious sound. “I didn’t know what to expect with all this. I always thought Camden was…”
“A jerk?” I guess, and he winces.
“I hate to admit it, but yes. I feel bad about that. He’s paying for all of us, being so generous. He didn’t have to fly us all out here. He didn’t have to put us up in a room at the Four Seasons.” He huffs. “I mean… I think my wife likes that hotel room more than she likes our house.”
