The restaurant hums with the energy of a Saturday night. Our table is full, exactly the way Kael wanted it. He’s spent the last few days talking about nothing but this dinner, and he arrived here bursting with excitement.
The stacks of presents waiting for him at home when he came back from the park with his father probably had a lot to do with that. Spread across our living room and my son’s bedroom are far more than the four gifts Kael expected to receive this year.
Despite my protests and my threats, his uncles crossed every possible line—and although I truly complained, my son’s joy at seeing all of it… nothing has ever made me happier.
My mother is talking with Atlas, Drako, and Apollo, all of them caught up in some random debate, and Nero’s gaze was locked exactly where mine was: on our son.
“What’s wrong, Kael?” I ask softly.
Kael bites his lower lip before tilting his head back and looking up at me.
“I think the money in my piggy bank won’t be enough to pay the bill,” he says in his normal voice. “There’s a lot of people here, Mom. So I’m eating just a little to save money.”
The table around us goes completely silent.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see everyone exchange looks, but I don’t take my attention away from the small blue eyes staring at me with expectation. My heart tightens.
No child should have to worry about things like this. But the frequency with which I have to tell my son he can’t have or do something because we don’t have the money led us here.
I lower my lips to his blond hair and take a deep breath.
“Sweetheart, Daddy can—” Nero starts, but I cut him off.
“There’s no need.” I lift my head and gently place my index and middle fingers under Kael’s chin. “You can eat all your food and order whatever else you want. There was more than enough in your piggy bank. Mommy promises.”
“Are you sure?” he asks, still uncertain.
I smile at him.
“Absolutely sure, love.”
His face lights up instantly, and Kael grabs his fork with renewed enthusiasm. He jumps back into the table conversation, being spoiled and adored by his family.
For a moment, I get lost in the image—the weight that had settled in my chest slowly dissolving as I realize that even if we don’t have money to throw around, my son already has more than I ever thought he would. He has everything I dreamed, day and night, that he would have.
A family.
I can’t stop myself from briefly closing my eyes and whispering a silent prayer, asking God not to take this from us. Not from him.
When I open my eyes again, I find Nero’s gaze fixed on my face, and I don’t look away.
A sigh of longing escapes my lips before I can stop it. But I suppose that when one of your deepest, most carefully guarded fantasies comes true, it’s hard to explain to your heart that not everything is exactly the way you wished it would be.
“I’m done, Mom,” Kael announces, pulling my attention away from Nero.
I look down at his plate and find it almost empty. He left only the peppers and rushes to justify himself before I can say anything.
“It’s my birthday, Mom. I don’t have to eat the peppers today, right?”
I press my lips together to keep from laughing and kiss the top of my boy’s head.
“No, sweetheart. Not today.”
When all the plates are empty and we’re satisfied, Kael looks at me expectantly. I laugh and nod.
He lifts his little hand, calling the waiter, who comes over immediately.
“Yes, sir,” the waiter says, making Kael put on a smug expression that—dear God—makes him look even more like his father.
