AllFreeNovel
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“Hey, buddy.”
He runs toward me, wrapping his arms around my waist, and I squeeze him back.
“Ready to par—” I stop short as Isaac climbs out of the passenger seat.
His eyes lock on me as he shuts the door, and with every step he takes toward me, my heart thumps louder and louder in my chest.
“Hey,” I manage to say as he stops in front of me.
“It’s my birthday party, and I want Isaac to be here with us,” Chance says bravely before looking up at me with puppy-dog eyes.
“Well, I assumed you would. I sent him a Facebook invitation.” I smile at my son, sad that he thought I wouldn’t invite Isaac. “I’m sorry. I should have texted you or something.” I glance at Isaac.
“I haven’t even been on social media, or I would’ve said I was coming. That’s my fault.” He glances down at Chance. “I’m sorry too, Chance.”
“Why is everyone sorry? We’re all here. That’s what matters,” Chance exclaims. “Now c’mon. It’s party time!”
Isaac walks in beside me, trailing after Chance to the humongous main room of the lake house, and we’re greeted by echoes of “Happy birthday, Chance!”
Ava gives me a meaningful glance before disappearing into the kitchen with her phone to her ear. Of course she would be in on this thing with Isaac. She’s a fixer.
Chance’s mouth drops when he sees everything. “Oh my god. Everything is Pokémon.”
“Well, I figured it should be, since that’s your favorite thing. And look at this cake.”
He turns to the center of the room, and there’s a large Poké Ball that’s entirely edible. “But we can’t cut it! It’s too perfect.” He sighs.
“I mean, I guess I could just eat the whole thing,” Isaac jokes.
“No way!” Chance says quickly.
“Hey, you said you didn’t want to cut it,” I tease him.
“You two are not funny. Where’s Jackson?” Chance glances around, looking for his best friend. “Ava brought sparklers for us.”
“Not so fast, buddy. We have to sing and have presents first, right?”
“Can we just sing, and I can open presents later? I’d rather hang out with my friends.”
“I suppose that could be arranged,” I agree.
“Is Dad here?” Chance glances around hopefully.
“I’m here, buddy.” Greg pushes through the crowd, and Chance grabs him in a hug, nearly knocking Greg off balance.
It warms my heart to see my ex wrap his arms around our son. I know he loves him, and we’re figuring this thing out as we go. It won’t be easy, but it’ll be worth it for our son to be happy.
“Hey, this cake is awesome.” Greg squeezes Chance’s shoulder. “I got something to go perfectly with it.” He unfolds his hand to reveal a candle shaped like Chance’s favorite Pokémon.
Chance’s eyes are suspiciously bright, but I know he’s pushing back the tears as he looks up at Greg and then over at me. “I love you guys. This is the best birthday ever.”
He takes the candle from his dad and pokes it onto the cake. I grab the matches and light the candle, watching Chance’s face light up as we all sing to him, and then he closes his eyes and blows out the flame.
Isaac smiles at me from the front row of the crowd, and I can’t help but wonder what he would have wished for.
After everyone has a piece of cake, Chance grabs my arm. “Mom, can I go outside now? Sparklers, remember?”
“You can. Hey, don’t forget the mosquito spray,” I remind him. “Uncle Frank is on the back deck. He has some.”
