“For Toby’s first birthday, Sally made a bunny because he was obsessed with them. And now it’s trains, but they knew about his love for those. Next year, though, it’ll be something new. Maybe dinosaurs. Maybe princesses, or princess-dinosaurs—whatever he wants. And they’ll miss it.” She gave a shrug and picked up a lighter. “It’s all just weird.”
Those fingers stayed against her neck, soft and reassuring. “But you’re okay?”
This time, Anna smiled at her. “Yeah.” She lit the candles and looked back at Lane. “I really am.”
Lane leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss.
When they pulled apart, Anna was still smiling. “Thanks for putting up with my crazy.”
“I like your crazy.”
“And I love you.”
Lane grinned. “Me too.”
“Ready?”
“Ready.”
Anna picked up the cake, and they walked towards the main bench, Lane starting to sing and everyone joining in, the kids flocking to the table. Wide-eyed, Toby was held over the cake by Sandra, his cheeks covered in cupcake icing. When they finished singing, Lane’s arm around Anna’s waist, Ella showed him how to blow out the candles while everyone clapped and cheered. Toby looked proud, even though he couldn’t have any idea why.
The candles were lit another six times so all the kids could have a turn.
Cake was passed out, and everyone said how amazing it was. Someone even congratulated Anna on how well she had made it. Anna didn’t correct them, smiling sweetly and saying, “Thanks. Old recipe.”
Before Ella could completely open her mouth, Kym clapped her hand over it and gave her a wink, pulling her hand away to reveal a huge grin on Ella’s face as she caught on in an unsubtle, six-year-old way. She tried to wink back at Kym but only managed an exaggerated blink.
By the time four rolled around, kids were starting to crash, and people were drifting away. At four fifteen, everyone had left. Thankfully, with the five of them remaining, it wasn’t long before the clean-up was done. Anna was putting some Tupperware into a storage box when Sandra walked up next to her, adding a cupcake rack to the contents and sliding her arm around Anna’s shoulder. Gratefully, Anna leant into her. Nearby, Ella propelled herself sleepily back and forth on the swing, the bright yellow party dress she had chosen covered in grass stains from playing soccer with her friends. She looked to see if Toby was still where he had been for the last half hour. There he was, curled up on Lane’s jacket where he had put himself and promptly fallen asleep, hands and face covered in cake. At her mother’s squeeze, she turned her head and kissed Sandra.
A cheeky expression more befitting Toby crossed her mother’s face. “How’d your list go?”
Anna groaned. “Yes, okay, you were right.”
“I’m your mother, I’m always right.”
In the swing next to Ella, Lane sat pumping her feet, getting her swing up into the air, and Anna smiled at them. Kym soon began pushing Ella to let her compete with Lane and see who could swing higher.
She turned back to her mother. “You are.”
“Well, that was far too sincere.”
Anna gave a shrug and kept her gaze on the swing set. “You said I could do this.”
More tightly than before, Sandra squeezed Anna to her. “As your mother, I am biased, but I think you can do anything.”
At the face Anna made, Sandra laughed, dropping her arm. “Let me know if you still think you’re coping tomorrow after trying to keep Toby in his new bed, especially since he’s currently having a late afternoon nap.”
“Oh God.”
“It’s karma.” The delight in her tone did little to make Anna feel better. “When we got you in yours, you used to go into Jake’s room in the middle of the night and wake him up by patting his face. Only, we clued in and tried to stop you. I could never get you back to sleep, but whenever your father was home, you became like butter. He’d pick you up and put you back in bed and read to you until you fell asleep. When he was gone, you were a horror.”
Watching the man in question pull down streamers, a warmth spread through Anna. “I didn’t know that.”
“Oh please. As a toddler, you were a typical daddy’s little girl.”
Grabbing a box, Anna held that information close.
When Sandra and Andrew finally made it into their car, they waited to give Kym a lift, while Kym hugged Anna as if