“Thank you, Ash.”
I closed the distance between us to give him a soft, lingering kiss, trying to pour every bit of affection swelling inside me into each tender brush of our lips.
When we parted, both breathing a bit faster than before, Ash grabbed his phone and sent a quick message.
Putting the car in gear, he got us back onto the road.
“I just messaged Mom to tell her we might be a couple of minutes late. You never can tell what traffic is going to be like on the 401, eh?”
An hour later, I found myself surrounded by Landrys.
The cake, at the birthday girl’s polite request, had been eaten before lunch was served, which felt like a solid decision considering how damn good it tasted.
“Yes” seemed to be the only rule for the day.
Cake before lunch? Sure! Yorkshire puddings and gravy as a main course? Why not? Grandpa and Daddy taking turns on the Switch to see who could build the best rollercoaster in Minecraft?“Only if Ash and his boyfriend are the judges.”
I was both mesmerized and exhausted by the level of energy these people possessed. Maybe they had the cake first, so the sugar high kept them going strong through the rest of the party?
All I knew was, as predicted, Ash’s dad, Shane, had asked him to look at something in the garage for a minute, and I’d taken the opportunity to sink into the cozy corner of the sectional while everyone else was busy.
“Hi, Caden.”
Olivia, or Liv as her family called her, bounced onto the seat next to mine.
“Hey, birthday girl. How does it feel to be seven?”
Sitting criss-cross-applesauce sideways on the couch so she could face me, she fidgeted with her fingers while she took a second to think over my question.
“Well, pretty much the same as being six. ’Cept. . .” She held up the five fingers on her right hand and started counting them off. “I get to go to bed twenty minutes later from now on, which is good because I can watch a whole other episode ofIs It Cake?Mommy says I can start helping with the forks and spoons in the dishwasher now, so I’ll get an extra dollar allowance a week. I’m gonna start saving money for my own Switch so I don’t have to share with my brother, Blaine, anymore. And Daddy promised to start teaching me chess so I can beat Grandpa and Blaine. He said seven sounded ‘old enough.’”
“Holy moly. That does sound like a lot of good reasons to get another year older,” I agreed, my tone serious, floored by how carefully she’d answered.
“Yep.” She nodded happily before dropping her voice to a whisper. “But do you know what the best part of my birthday has been so far?”
“What?” I slouched down in my seat slightly to be closer to her height.
“Uncle Asher coming home just for me. Grandma and Grandpa are extra happy when he’s here, even though they’re always pretty happy anyway. Daddy says it’s because they miss him so much when he’s playing hockey all the time. But Mommy says it’s because they like to know all their kids are safe at home. Which do you think?”
Shit, kids knew a lot of stuff. As the sweetness of her words caused pressure to build behind my eyes, I quickly blinked away the moisture soIwouldn’t be the one who cried at the birthday party.
That would certainly make me memorable.
“I think it’s probably both, honestly. Your parents sound like smart people, so they probably know what they’re talking about. Plus, they both have jobs where they have to try to pay really close attention. I think that means they’d be good at noticing all kinds of stuff. What do you think?”
I’d been a fast study of the quick-witted Landry clan. My best move so far had been to ask any of them a question, and all the sugary energy would light them up as they answered.
“Hmm, don’t know. But Grandma tells me that it’s okay not to know the answer. She was a kindergarten teacher forever, so she knows this stuff. But Ash got to have Grandma’s special red velvet chocolate cake for the first time today, because she only ever makes it for me. So we all got pretty lucky.”
“You got that right, kiddo,” Ash spoke from behind me.
How long had he been there listening to my conversation with his niece?
“Thank you again for the Nintendo gift card, Uncle Asher. Grandpa helped me do the math, and now it’s going to take me like a whole year less of allowance to buy my own Switch.” Olivia bounced on the cushion a few times before standing up.
Putting his hands on my shoulders, Ash stepped forward until the back of my head rested against his belly button. I triednot to think what else I might be pressing against in the presence of a seven-year-old.
“My pleasure, Liv. You make sure you help your parents out without them having to remind you, and I’ll see what I can do about Christmas, deal?”
