Gah! Could he just stop being so wonderful for one damn moment so I could get my head straight!
“What’s dat?” Callie asked, running over to the toy chest with Cameron right on her heels.
“Wow,” they gasped as they ran their little hands over all the different toys carved into the wood.
“Do you like it?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“Dis is so cool!” Cameron shouted.
I walked over and pointed to their names on the lid. “Look here. This says Cameron and this says Callie.” I traced each letter for them. “Brett built this for you all by himself so you can keep your toys in it.”
They jumped up off the floor and ran straight for Brett, wrapping their arms around his legs as they told him thank you over and over. He squatted down to their level and hugged them both tightly. My heart squeezed violently when Callie took his face in her itty-bitty hands and planted a kiss on his lips.
“Love you.”
“Me too, me too!” Cameron cried, not to be outdone. And with that, the twin tornados were back out the door and, no doubt, heading straight for the bounce castle as Brett stayed hunched down, looking like his world had just been rocked. I knew the feeling.
“I think it’s safe to say they love their present,” I whispered, my voice coming out scratchy as I tried to get a hold of myself. I’d never in my life seen my kids take to another person the way they’d taken to Brett. It moved me in a way I couldn’t describe.
Before Brett could stand to his full height, I took the opportunity to step past him and start out of the room. I needed to try and get my head straight and I couldn’t do that when I was near him. But his next words stopped me cold.
“I love them, too, you know.”
The only movement I could make was to look over my shoulder as my eyes stung with tears and my jaw dropped.
“I really do, Kenz. I love those two kids something fierce.”
He walked past me and down the hall while I remained frozen in place, attempting to process what he just said. As I played his words on repeat, I couldn’t deny the fact that I really did believe him.
I wasn’t much of an expert on parties, but this one seemed to be going off without a hitch as far as I was concerned. The girls had all the food and decorations set up. The guys and I had set out the tables and chairs, the guests—little demon spawns from the twins’ daycare class—were running around like a bunch of rabid hyenas hyped up on speed, and best of all, the bounce house was still in working order, no little devil child had popped it yet.
I’d say that was a success. Cameron and Callie were having the time of their lives so even if the skies opened up and flooded the shit out of everything, as long as those two kids were smiling, I was happy.
“I still don’t get it,” Trevor stated from where he was standing in a group next to me, Savannah, Jeremy, and Luke. “Why can’t I have a turn on the bouncy castle?”
“Because you’re a grown man!” My eyes rolled skyward, thoroughly fed up with having to explain it to him for the third time. He was worse than the damn five-year-olds.
The son of a bitch actually had the nerve to pout. “That’s not a very good excuse.”
“Oh, my God!” Savannah exclaimed. “I’m not having this conversation again.”
“What’s happening?” Lizzy asked as she walked up to us.
“Your husband’s throwin’ a damn hissy is what,” Savannah answered.
“Ah, damn, baby. What did you do now?”
Trevor threw his hands up in the air. “I just don’t see why I can’t get in the damn bouncy castle!”
“Ah, shit, babe. Do we really have to have this conversation again?”
“For the love of…” I started. “Can y’all please watch your language?” I griped. How hard was it for a group of adults to remember to watch what they said around little kids?
Luke looked over at me with a shit-eating grin on his face. “Looks like someone’s turning into a big boy.”
I opened my mouth to spell out what I thought when I felt a tug on my pant leg. Cam was standing next to me doing a funny little dance, hopping around from one foot to the other.
“What’s up, little man?”
Grabbing hold of my shirttail, he pulled me down until he could whisper in my ear. “I gots to go potty.”
I looked up and scanned the backyard for Kenzie but didn’t see her anywhere. “Where’s your momma, bub?”
“In the kitchen making dip. I really gots to go, Brett,” he answered, speeding up his little dance. “And there’s a line for the potty.”