Page 182 of The Plan

Mariana walks up to us and holds out her arm. “Band-aid.”

Vid takes her arm, searching for any cuts from her fall, but she doesn’t have any since she only fell from four feet onto the grass.

“Does it hurt, mi vida?”

Mariana nods her head as she pouts her lip. She’s in a band-aid phase and wants to put one on every excuse she gets. Herarm is fine because I watched her fall, and she fell on her butt, not her arm.

“Here.” I take her hand and pull her closer. “Let me kiss it better.” She smiles up at me, and I plant a kiss on her perfectly fine arm.

She turns to Vid next. “Mami, dale beso.”

Vidia smiles at her as she leans forward and kisses her arm. I smile proudly at how perfectly she speaks Spanish. I think she’s better at it than English, but I’m definitely not complaining.

“Titi.” She turns to Hazel next with her arm out. “Besito.”

“No, you little faker.” I roll my eyes at Hazel for saying no to a two-year-old, but I’m honestly not even surprised. When Mariana pouts, Hazel pulls her onto her lap as Mariana laughs and kisses her a bunch of times, up her arms and on her face.

I watch them with a warm smile as Hazel rubs her “hurt” arm. “Sana sana, colita de rana, si no sana hoy,” She looks over at Mari to finish.

“Sana mana!” We all break into a laugh as Hazel and Vidia correct her at the same time.

“Sanará mañana,”

Mariana repeats after them, and Hazel kisses the top of her head. “You’re spoiled rotten, you know that?” Hazel pinches her cheek, and I smile at their encounter.

“You my fairy God Mami, you spoil me.” I chuckle at how she says Hazel’s her fairy Godmother instead of just Godmother. August walks toward us and scoops Mariana from Hazel’s arms.

“And I’m your fairy Godfather.” He throws her so high into the air that Vid and I almost jump out of our seats before she lands in his arms.

“August!” We both yell, and he turns to us, confused.

“I’m not going to drop her, jeez.” His eyes widen at our panic, and he holds Mariana closer to him.

“Don't throw her that damn high.”

He laughs at the worry in my voice and goes back to tossing Mariana into the air a few times, a lot lower than he previously was. A while later, we’re singing Happy Birthday to Mariana and taking pictures around the cake.

“Make a wish, Mari.” Vid leans over with our daughter in hand so she can blow her candles. Everyone cheers once she blows them out, and she looks up at us and then whispers in her mom's ear.

“I wish I say the secret.” I don’t tell her that her wish won’t come true now that she said it but just kiss her forehead and look down at her mom, kissing her too. I slide my finger along the bottom of the cake and tap both of their noses, then lick my finger.

They both burst into a laugh, and I watch their smiles, beyond happy that they're identical. Vidia’s smile is still one of my favorite things about her, and I’m glad our daughter has it, along with the rest of her face I was convinced she looked like me at first, but my mother-in-law showed me baby pictures of my wife, and our daughter is her spitting image.Maybe the next one will look like me.

Vidia hands out the candy bags to all of the kids, but when I hear Athena barking, my head snaps to the side. Just as I look, Mariana stands up straight and takes a step away from our infinity pool.

“I didn’t.”

I squint my eyes at her when I see her hide the remote control to the pool cover behind her back. She shrugs her shoulders with a guilty smile on her face. “I promise!”

I squint my eyes harder and bend down, walking toward her with my arms out to get her. She tries to run away, but Athena gets in her way, and I quickly catch her. I snatch the remote from her and wave it in front of her. “Are you lying to your dad?”

She shakes her head and giggles, and I’m usually the fun parent, but this isn’t funny. I lift her and turn more serious as I stand back up. “Where did you find this?”

She shrugs.

I give her a pointed look and wait for her to budge but she doesn't. “Where?”

She lets out a sigh and goes limp in my arms. “In the cocina.” I shake my head and have no clue how she reached the kitchen drawers, but I’ll make sure to keep this somewhere else.

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