AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Before he can continue, she wraps her arms around his neck and gives him one of her biggest hugs, followed by a kiss on the cheek. Brian's cheeks flush slightly pink by Charlotte's gratitude. My view darts to Amanda, who is watching it from a slight distance. She bites her bottom lip as she sees their interaction.
“You're welcome, sweetheart.”
Then Charlotte turns her attention to Cole. She throws her head in her neck and takes another step back to look at his face. He gives her a tender smile.
"Auntie Alisha is right. You are the size of a bulldozer. You're even larger and wider than Giant," she remarks, in awe of Cole's size. Everybody laughs, but Cole doesn't react with a loud laugh. Instead, he gives her a friendly smile and holds out his hand.
"I prefer a hug," my girl points out, as if it's the most normal thing in the world. Cole squats, and as she did with Brian, she gives him a hug and a kiss.
"He's a kind bulldozer, Auntie Alisha," she says, stroking Cole's cheek while turning her gaze for a moment to Alisha.
I'm in complete awe, and by the looks of it, it's not only my heart that's melting. Alisha has her hand on her heart as she watches this sweet moment.
Are you ready for more presents?" he asks while tapping her small nose with his finger.
"Yeah.” She jumps back and runs to Martha and John, who welcome her with open arms. I swallow as my emotions run high, seeing and feeling the love in this room. These people have become my family, and it's an amazing notion.
Nick holds out a pack with tissues and snickers. "Here, you'll need these today."
I give him a teasing push. "Watch it, Brown. You'll regret it when my emotions go in the opposite direction."
He takes my chin and lifts it, and gazes into my eyes. "You're not scaring me. I'm in for the good and the rough parts."
"Hey, lovebirds, come join the party," Bella says with a teasing voice.
We walk to the others and chat with them for a short while. Then Bella and Alisha take Charlotte's hand, and they guide her to the table. Charlotte is ecstatic when she sees the many presents, and she dives straight in. She unwraps everything, and with every gift, she lets out a squeal of delight. Brian has a few staff members taking care of the drinks and food. Everything is so well-organized. I couldn't have asked for a better location than this.
A while later, when Charlotte has unwrapped all the boxes, we present her the cake. Bella, Amanda, and Alisha are standing by me as we wheel it in. Charlotte claps when she sees the enormous unicorn cake.
"I love it, Mommy. It's so pretty."
Everyone is having fun seeing the pleasure on Charlotte's face as she helps me slice cake, and handing everyone a plate with an enormous chunk of birthday cake. When everyone has a piece, we lift our plates and stand in a circle around Charlotte—singing happy birthday again. Her little eyes get watery as we sing for her, and I can't help shedding another tear. When we finish singing, we dig in and enjoy the cake. Nick and I exchange many moments of eye contact during the eating of our piece of pastry, and I know he's thinking of our sweet chocolate cake moment. His intense gaze has a direct effect on my hormones.
Charlotte takes my hand and whispers, "The t-shirts. Can we do that now, Mommy?"
"Are you sure? It's your day, honey."
She nods.
Nick comes over and whispers in Charlotte's ear. "I will get the box. Wait here." He sneaks out while everyone is talking and having a pleasant time, and when he returns, Charlotte runs to us. Nick lets out a hard whistle to get everyone's attention. My heart is galloping as nervousness and excitement build up inside of me.
"Everybody, listen. Charlotte wants to tell you something."
All eyes go to my girl, who's a beam of excited energy. "I have made a special t-shirt for everyone here. I'll give it to you, but you can't peek until I say you can." Everyone is smiling at her bossy tone.
She opens the box with such an eagerness that I kiss her cheek to calm her down. I've put a post-it on every t-shirt with a name. She reads the name and lifts the shirts out of the box as if she's holding porcelain. It's funny to watch her walk back and forth, giving everyone a t-shirt and telling them to wait. Alisha giggles at Charlotte's bossy voice as she keeps repeating it. When everyone holds a t-shirt, Nick stands beside me and wraps one arm around me while Charlotte stands in front of us with an excited smile.
"I'm counting to three."
"One… two… three. Open it," she shouts while jumping and clapping.
Everyone is busy unfolding their shirt, but it's Martha who is the first to read her text. She screams out loud, and Nick's face lights up, seeing his mother's beaming face. Then Charlotte can't wait anymore and screams, "I will be a big sister! Mommy has a baby in her belly!"
In the next few seconds, everyone explodes with a reaction. The girls scream and come bursting towards me and pull me in a hug. Bella and Amanda are crying as they hug me, and I can't hold back the tears anymore. Nick's parents, Brian, and Cole, are congratulating their son and best friend.
"I'm going to be an auntie." Amanda sniffs, stroking away her tears. “This is now my new favorite t-shirt,” she says, pointing to her shirt that says: Auntie Amanda.
Bella simply hugs me and whispers. "I love you, Em."
