Page 109 of Moonstruck Kiss

“Can I go outside and play with it now?”

I shake my head. “You have to wait for us to finish getting ready.”

“But I want to,” he moans.

“We won’t be long. Give us twenty minutes. You can watch TV here in our room while you wait.”

“Okay,” he says reluctantly.

There’s no problem whatsoever with Ollie playing outside our two-bedroom house by himself since it’s within the Moonstruck Lodge property. It used to be my parents’ place until they suggested we swap with them with the cabin so we could have an additional room for Ollie.

Twenty minutes later, we’re making our way out the front door.

“I can’t wait to play with this,” Ollie says, hugging his new toy to his chest.

“How about you show it to Grandma and Grandpa? I’m sure they’ll be at the main house’s yard, doing some gardening.”

“Okay.”

Ollie skips ahead of us and I hold Joey’s hand as we make the ten-or-so-minute trek to the main house. When we move to our bigger four-bedroom house in the far corner of the property along the riverside, it’ll be too far to walk to the other lodgings within Moonstruck Lodge’s boundaries.

It’s all very exciting, but it’ll probably take about a year before our new home is built because the development application for it—and the various other buildings for the lodge extension—have only just been approved.

But, wow, things have moved pretty quickly. It’s only been seven months to the day since I had that cringy speech at the packed town hall. Unbeknownst to me, my parents had already lodged extension plans with the shire council a few years ago, and they’d already been approved back then. They just didn’t go through with it because of financial constraints.

So, with only some modifications to the plans—the biggest one being our new house—consideration and council approval didn’t take long this time around.

The timing is perfect because we can have a big family discussion about the planned works today. My Sydney-based siblings—my builder brother, Colton, my interior decorator sister, Sienna, and the chef in the family, Trenton, are all coming for Ollie’s birthday party.

Ollie’s delighted shout up ahead tells us he discovered his other birthday surprise. He runs back to us, his face a picture of awe.

“There’s a huge bounce house in the garden!” he shrieks.

“Bounce house?” Joey asks. “I suppose that’s the American term for jumping castles.”

I chuckle. “Yes.”

“Can I invite my friends over?” Ollie asks.

“Sure,” I say.

“Can you call them, Dad, please?”

I want to tease him and say I’ll do it later, but he looks so earnest that I don’t have the heart to do it, especially after this morning. “Let’s say hello to Grandpa, Grandma and Auntie Liss first.”

He runs towards the garden again. By the time we catch up to him, he’s already hugged the three.

“Are you ready for your birthday party?” his excited grandmother asks.

Ollie’s eyes grow wide as saucers. “I’m having a birthday party?”

“Yes!”

“All my friends are coming?”

“Yes! At lunchtime, they’ll all be here. Not only that, your uncles and auntie from Sydney are coming, too.”

“Did you guys hear that?” he asks me and Joey.

---