Page 35 of Rough Hands, Soft Lips
“A deadline?” Cal smiled to himself. His son would never let him off easy. That was for sure. “It’s a deal, chief. Give me two weeks to find my courage, and then we’ll talk.”
Cal kissed his son goodnight, switched out the light, and gently closed the door. He had assumed the two of them were enough, that they were doing fine and would never need anything else in their lives, but he’d been wrong. More than once, Owen had mentioned wanting a mother figure in his life. That meant it wasn’t a passing fancy. For Cal, it felt like standing on the edge of a cliff while his own son told him to jump. Maybe he was wearing a parachute, but he couldn’t feel it and didn’t trust that it was there. All the same, for Owen, he would give bravery a solid try.
CHAPTER 16
APRIL
It was probably the best idea April had ever had. At least, that’s what she told herself as she dialed the phone and waited for Cal to answer. The only thing that concerned her about her idea was that she hadn’t thought of it sooner. When Cal answered, she immediately launched into an explanation. “I want to give Owen a surprise birthday party to thank him for giving me one. I’d like to have it at my apartment. I’ll invite my friends since Owen doesn’t have any his age yet, but it’ll be like a real party with presents and cake and everything. What do you think?”
There was a beat of silence on the other end of the line, during which April began to think she’d gone too far for some reason. Then Cal said, “I think that’s a wonderful idea. But are you sure you want to host it at your place?”
“Yeah, of course.” That was part of the point. “You’ve had me over so many times, but you haven’t ever been to my place. I’d like a chance to have you over, and this makes a pretty good excuse, don’t you think?”
Cal laughed, and April drank in the sound of it. More and more, she found herself struggling to suppress her strong feelings for the man. “I think that’s a great excuse,” he said. “And I’m sure Owen would agree if I told him, which I won’t because it’s a surprise. Right? When were you thinking of hosting this party?”
“Saturday?” she said. “We all have the afternoon off that day.”
“Perfect,” Cal said. “We’ll see you then.”
As soon as April ended the call, she bounced around her room saying, “Yes, yes, yes, yes,” like she’d won a years-long tournament of some sort. Next, she called her friends to tell them it was on, and then she started planning. She was going to need streamers for sure, and a chocolate cake. Good music was a must. April had never planned a child’s birthday party before, but the second she got started, she realized it was so much more fun than planning a party for an adult. She was able to harness her younger self, think about what she would like, and make it all come true.
Shopping for the party was a more expensive endeavor than April had anticipated, which was her own fault in the end. She was so excited, and she wanted everything to be the best. It had to be perfect. She chose the fanciest metallic streamers over the plain white ones. She chose a two-tiered cake, despite the fact that there were not going to be enough people present to eat it. She wanted it to feel like a big deal. She wanted Owen to feel truly celebrated. He was a great kid, she knew, and he deserved to be celebrated.
The day of the party, she got up early to decorate and pick up the cake from the bakery. Her apartment looked exactly as celebratory as she felt it should when she was finished, and it was shortly after she finally stood back and surveyed it for thefinal time that Crystal showed up. She was first, of course. April could usually predict the order her guests would arrive, Nathan almost always being last.
“Ooh,” Crystal said, her eyes traveling around April’s apartment. “This looks great. Why didn’t I have you plan my birthday party?”
April laughed. “You wanted a kid’s party?”
“A stellar kid’s party is better than a boring adult party anyway.”
“Your birthday party was boring?”
Crystal hung up her jacket and walked her gift to the dining table. “Stop trying to undermine my compliment, friend.” She set the gift on the table. “I hope he likes trains. I hardly know him, so it was all a bit of guesswork.”
“He’ll likely be pleased with whatever you got him,” April said.
Crystal eyed the gifts already on the table. “So, you got the kid two presents, did you? Trying to show up the rest of us?”
April shook her head with a smile. “One of them is for his father. I thought it would be a good occasion to present it—a little surprise from Owen and me.”
“Ah, that’s sweet.” Crystal helped herself to a drink from April’s fridge before plopping down on the couch. She always made herself at home, which pleased April, who always wanted her guests to feel comfortable in her home. She took so much pride in her own hospitality. “So, how’s the relationship going?” Crystal asked.
“Decent,” April said. Then she added, “More than decent, actually. I’m sure I’m feeling a bit more optimistic than he is, buthe has good reasons to be wary. All I have to do is prove to him that this isn’t going to end in his broken heart.”
“Or at least that you’re worth the risk of a broken heart,” Crystal said, and April nodded in agreement.
“Yeah. I hope that’s true.”
“It is,” Crystal said. “Trust me. I know you, and you’re more than worth it.”
April felt herself blush at that. The compliment was more than she would have expected from her most honest and pragmatic friend. She was searching for words of gratitude that would accurately express the depth of what she felt, but then there was a knock on the door.
“There they are,” Crystal said. “No chance in hell that’s Nathan. He’s got another twenty minutes, at least.”
“No lies there.” April headed for the door. When she opened it, she wasn’t at all surprised to see Cal and Owen waiting on the other side. It still felt strange to see them in her space, though. She was so used to visiting them in theirs. Surely, her home wasn’t nearly as interesting, but she hoped it was comfortable all the same. “Welcome!” she said, and she invited them in.
Then she and Crystal said, “Happy Birthday, Owen!” in unison.
