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"Sure, El." He lifts her up to the table, slipping the sandals on her feet.
"Who's that?" She asks, pushing her blonde hair out of her face.
"This is my brother, Jameson."
Her face twists in confusion, "What is that on your arms?"
She points at me, my gaze falling to my ink-stained arms.
"Those are tattoos," I smile at her, wondering who she belongs to. Maybe Carter and Lexie. I smirk at the thought, she does look a little like Lexie, and I haven't seen them in years.
Judson tightens her sandals and sets her back down in the grass.
"Ellie James! There you are."
A familiar voice fills the air, my mind shooting right back to five years ago.
"Hey, mama! I went on the moon bounce!" Her eyes stop at me, going wide with surprise.
"You did? Was it scary?" She asks, ripping her eyes from mine, kneeling down to her level.
"Not really. Carson made sure no one trampled me."
Hanna laughs, the memory of the sound knocking the air from my chest.
"Well, good, we can't have a flattened Ellie!"
She giggles, running off to play.
My heart feels as though it may stop. The tightening in my chest is alarming, and I feel a pain so sharp that I feel like I might collapse.
Hanna still stands there frozen. She looks absolutely mortified. I try to do the math in my head, remembering back to the last time I was with her. Held her. Kissed her.
Her daughter looks about four or five, making me sad that she could move on so fast. The regret fills my bones like marrow. This may be the first time in five years that I have felt something and not been sixteen thousand feet in the air.
Her lips part like she might say something, anything, but she doesn't speak. Instead, she turns on her heels to head back to the girls.
"You alright?" Judson breaks my concentration.
"Yeah, just wasn't expecting that."
"What?"
"Hanna," I whisper.
"Yeah, she left when you did and came back after she graduated college, with Ellie in tow. She is a teacher at Carson's school." He explains, pulling his beer to his lips.
JC comes barreling up, ready to open his gifts. Judson gives him the go-ahead, and we walk over to where he is ripping paper left and right.
All of the kids surround him, but I can't help but notice how JC protects Ellie. Always keeping her right next to his side, like she is glass.
He finally gets to the gift I brought and pulls the box up, inspecting it. Instead of watching him open it, my eyes find Hanna, a man standing protectively behind her. His hand on her back.
"This is so cool!" He squeals. "Mom, look!"
Blakely turns her head in his direction, "Is that what you fly, Jay?"
"Yeah," I smile. Leaning down to JC. "That, my man, is an F-35 fighter. I can help you put it together later if you want."
