Page 186 of Sloane

I rubbed my eyes as I came downstairs to the smell of breakfast cooking.

“Happy Birthday!” Stu called from where he stood at the stove.

Bobby peeked around the open door of the refrigerator.

“Happy Birthday!”

“Thank you, guys! What are you doing?”

“Cooking you a birthday breakfast, duh.”

“That is so sweet.”

I sat down at the kitchen island and watched them work, not even worried they were going to burn the place down. Stu was getting ready to fly the nest this weekend, so he was more than capable in the kitchen.

“Where’s baby girl?” he asked as he expertly flipped the pancakes in the pan.

“She’s still sleeping.”

“That’s a first.”

“Tell me about it. I panicked a little and made sure she was still breathing.”

“She’s just getting bigger,” Bobby offered. “I bet she starts sleeping through the night soon.”

While I would love that, I also felt a little sad at the reminder that my little girl wasn’t going to be little for long.

“Do you have plans today?” Stu asked as he slid the plate of pancakes in front of me, and Bobby set the tub of butter and bottle of syrup on the island within my reach.

“We have a therapy session,” I reminded them, then put a dollop of butter on the hotcakes. “But then I’m going to lunch with Tammy and having dinner with Sloane and my mom. I figured it was time to introduce the two, and since it’s my birthday, my mom will have to be nice.”

“You don’t think she’ll be nice?”

“Honestly? I’m not sure. She was pretty mad about her daughter being a single mother like she was.”

“But you’re not a single mother.”

“Not now,” I said as I poured the syrup over my stack. “But I was for a while, so I don’t know if she’s willing to forgive and forget, or if she’s going to hold a grudge.”

“If you don’t hold a grudge, why should she?”

“You’ll understand when you’re a parent. If anyone hurt Millie, I’d hold a grudge.”

“I have a hard time picturing that.”

“Let’s hope I never have to prove it,” I replied before I popped a bite in my mouth and chewed thoughtfully. “These are really good,” I mumbled before swallowing.

“I’m glad. I was worried I was going to mess up your birthday breakfast.”

The camera alerted on all three of our phones at the same time.

“Who is here at this hour?”

Bobby glanced at the screen on his phone and said, “It looks like a delivery truck.” Then his eyes got wide, and he murmured, “Oh shit!”

~~~~

I stood on the front steps holding a bouquet of red roses while I watched a white Honda Odyssey with a big red bow on the hood being backed off a flatbed trailer at the street just outside the driveway.

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