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She doesn’t say anything else either, so we tune in to Abby opening the last of her gifts. She’s as over the moon as she was earlier; there doesn’t seem to be a single item she dislikes.
Much too soon—because I’m enjoying Liv’s company quite a bit—it’s time to wrap up the party with cake and ice cream for the kids. Some of Abby’s family is in charge of handling that, but I’m still in charge of drinks, so I excuse myself from Liv for a minute.
The soda and tea run out after just a few guests come over, leaving only water bottles, so I figure it’ll be fine to set the ice chest on the table where people can help themselves. I do it and rejoin Liv, and we watch as sugary madness ensues.
Rae finds us after she gets her slice of Barbie cake.
We wave at her and Liv says, “Hey! Did you have fun up there with Abby?”
“Hi, Annie! Hi, Landon!Yes!It wasso fun!All her toys are so cool and she loved her Barbie shirt a lot! Annie, want a bite?” Rae gets a huge chunk of cake on her fork and, eyes growing wide, precariously offers it up.
I watch with my own wide eyes, chuckling but uncertain of how long the chocolatey lump is going to balance on that flimsy fork.
“Nah, girl! You eat it!” Liv cups her hands under the cake, and a second later, it tumbles off the fork and right into the makeshift safety net.
I laugh more as I marvel at her intuition.
Rae gasps, though, in real concern. “Oh, no! It’s all over your hands! I’m sorry! Is it on your clothes?”
Liv grins and transports the cake back to the plate. “Nope, it’s all good, so don’t be sorry. But do you remember the cake we made for Valentine’s Day? That red icing really did get everywhere!”
Now Rae gives a sweet, bubbly laugh. Her eyes shine with fond memories. “Yes! I remember!” She looks at me and warns cutely, “Landon, don’t ever let Annie make you a cake with red icing!”
With a thumbs-up, I promise, “I’ll remember that for the rest of my life.”
She grins and looks from me to her aunt. “What’s for dinner? I’m hungry!” To prove it, she devours a bite of her cake.
“Um…” Liv is inspecting her hands, clearly wondering what to do about the icing smeared on them, “…I don’t know. Wait, what happened to that pizza? I know I got you a piece when I got one for myself.”
Rae wrinkles up her nose. “Wellll, I ate some of it, but I didn’t like it.”
Liv mumbles now, “Huh. Thought I was the only one.”
Amused, I speak up. “You definitely weren’t. I bet it was the sauce, by the way. It’s the sole reason why I didn’t go anywhere near that pizza.”
Rae nods fervently. “It tasted really bad!”
I nod, too, in agreement. “They should learn to make sauce like Papa Angelo’s does.”
As soon as the words leave my mouth, an idea pops into my head.
“Rae,” Liv says, “is that a napkin under your plate? I need to wipe my hands off.”
I help Rae pull the napkin out so Liv can use it. Then I suggest, “Hey, why don’t we go there? To Papa Angelo’s?”
The kid gasps excitedly. “Yes! Yes!”
Liv shakes her head, though. “Oh, no, I’m afraid we can’t.”
Now Rae’s shoulders slump. “Aw. How come, Annie?”
“Yeah, how come?” I ask, but I’m sure I know what her reason is.
Bring it on. I’m prepared.
As I expect, she says, “It’s not in our budget.” She looks away from cleaning her hands to give me a small, genuinely regretful smile. “It sounds fun, really, but…I’m sorry.”
I counter easily with, “Oh, did I not mention it’ll be my treat?” I snap my fingers. “Well, hear it now: I’m buying.”
