73. Chapter 73
Chapter 73
In the two weeks leading up to Jacob’s 4th birthday, Paige spent most of her free time with him and David. Sometimes it was just for dinner and sometimes for several hours. She’d asked David if it would be okay to get a gift for Jacob’s birthday, and had been told, “Absolutely.”
So, after giving it a lot of thought, in the end she bought a child-sized easel, along with a giant pad of paper to hang on it, plus a bunch of art supplies like water color paints, brushes, and some colored charcoal sticks. It was probably a little much, but she told herself it’s what she would’ve gotten her own son, if her son had been artistically inclined.
David had planned a little party at an indoor recreation center, that catered to young children with various games, trampolines, ball pits, big slides, a bounce house, and even a beginner’s rock wall with an instructor.
All twenty kids from Jacob’s preschool class had been invited, and about half of them showed up, including his best friend, Patrick, and two girls named Kelsey and Emma, who David said had mad crushes on Jacob. It didn’t take long for Paige to agree.
The ‘play’ portion of the party lasted an hour, and David spent most of that time making small talk with the parents while they all kept an eye on the kids. He found himself watching Paige almost as much as he watched Jacob, because at his urging, she’d joined him on a trampoline, then gone into the bounce house, her laughter mingling with Jacob’s. When she came out, her hair was a little wild and her cheeks were flushed, making David shake his head in amusement.
When it was time to eat, the kids gathered at a table and dug into the pizza, as did the adults. Immediately after that, Jacob opened his presents from his friends, then suffered through the obligatory ‘Happy Birthday’ song before blowing out his four candles.
Valerie had brought a triple layer chocolate cake with raspberry filling between each of the layers, covered in rich chocolate frosting, and Paige wasn’t in the least bit shy about snagging a big piece. Jumping around like a four-year-old expended a lot of energy.
Evan, who was in attendance, whispered to David, “She eats cake like a champ. Could she be more perfect?”
“She loves bacon, too,” David whispered back.
“You lucky son of a bitch.”
After the party was over, David, Paige, Jacob, Valerie, and Evan returned to the loft, for ‘family’ presents to be opened, and when Jacob saw the size of Paige’s gift, his eyes almost popped out of his head. David made him open it last and once the paper was off and he saw the contents, he gave a whoop of excitement, then demanded David put the easel together. With Evan’s help, it took less than ten minutes, after which Jacob thanked Paige with a big hug.
“I’m glad you like it,” she told him.
After Valerie left, David, Paige, and Evan retired to the couch with glasses of beer and wine, while Jacob napped on the floor near his easel, and the cats played nearby with bits of wrapping paper and all the empty boxes.
“Are you sure you shouldn’t move him?” Paige asked. Even though Jacob was laying on a fluffy rug, it just looked … wrong.
“He’s fine. It’s not the first time he’s fallen asleep on the floor,” David said, before pulling her in for a kiss. “Your concern is very sweet, though.”
Evan glanced over at Jacob, then at David. “Have you heard anything from Ashley?” he asked in a low voice.
“No,” David answered, before taking a drink of his beer.
Hearing that, Paige was torn between thinking how shitty it was, especially on Jacob’s birthday, and thinking it was a good thing, because Ashley getting out of his life was the goal after all. Not to mention, with the court date less than two weeks away, any contact from her before that would only complicate the situation (as well as be confusing to Jacob), who wasn’t going to be told about the new custody arrangement until it was done.
Later, after Jacob woke up and they finished off the leftover pizza from the party, Paige volunteered to give Jacob his bath, so David and Evan could keep talking. “If that’s okay with Jacob.”
Since Jacob seemed excited at the prospect, David agreed, and watched as the two of them headed down the hall to the bathroom.
Alone in the kitchen with another round of beers, Evan leaned back in his chair and told David, “I’ve never seen you this fucking happy.”
“That’s because I’ve never been this fucking happy. Not even the first time around with her.”
“So, what’s your plan to lock it down? Do you have a plan?”
“Sort of.”
“That means you don’t.”
“That’s not what it means. Look, I’m playing it by ear, all right? I’ve got the ring—”
“Holy shit, you do?” Evan looked at David with surprise. “Well, let me see it.”
“No. She’s right down the hall.”
“So what? She doesn’t have x-ray vision, for Christ’s sake. Show me the damn ring.”
David jumped up to get the ring from his nightstand drawer, then brought it out to Evan, who proceeded to examine it like he was a jeweler at Tiffany’s.
“You spent some cash here,” Evan said when he was finished. “If Ashley could see this, she’d shit herself.”
David took a drink of his beer, but didn’t say anything, because it was likely true.
“God, I never liked her,” Evan added with a sigh.
“Really? I didn’t know that. Why don’t you tell me one more time?”
Evan chuckled. “So, you have a ring. That’s great. And you’re playing it by ear. That’s not so great.”
“Look, all I know is that I fucking love her and I want to marry her. And when the time is right I’ll know it, and that’s when I’ll ask her.”
“And then you’ll live happily ever after?”
“You know what? Shut the fuck up.”
“You got her to marry you the first time,” Evan said, handing the ring back to David, who promptly put it in his pocket, out of sight. “I have every confidence you’ll be able to convince her a second time.”
At that moment, Paige screamed from the bathroom. It was so full of shock that David and Evan stared at one another with wide eyes before jumping up from the table at the same time, knocking their chairs over in the process, uncaring when they clattered to the floor. They ran down the hall, and were halfway to the bathroom when Jacob gave a shriek.
If possible, they ran even faster, bursting into the bathroom, only to come to an almost cartoonish halt when they saw both Paige and Jacob were fine, and were staring in shock at the abrupt appearance of David and Evan.
“What are you—” began Paige.
“What the hell were you screaming about?” David demanded, his voice coming out slightly high-pitched.
“Jacob splashed me,” Paige said.
For the first time, he noticed her wet, dripping hair and face; even her shirt was soaked. “He splashed you,” David said, very slowly. “Are you fu—are you kidding me? I almost hurt myself hauling ass to get here. I thought someone was dying.”
“Well, as you can see, no one is dying.”
“So why was Jacob screaming?”
“It’s not rocket science. I splashed him back.”
David turned to leave, and as he did, Jacob splashed Paige again, this time catching her totally unaware, since she was looking at David.
“You little … stinker,” Paige told Jacob, who belly-laughed as she wiped water from her face with her hands. To David, she said, “You know, some help would be nice.”
David saw a hand towel on the counter and tossed it to her. “Here you go.”
She gave him a dirty look.
Out in the hall, as mayhem continued in the bathroom, David smiled.
Back in the kitchen, David grabbed two crystal-cut glasses and his bottle of Knob Creek, while Evan picked up their chairs. After joining Evan at the table, David poured two fingers of bourbon into each glass, then slid one across to his friend.
“I’m going to lock that down soon,” David said. “Trust me.”
Evan raised his glass. “Here’s to locking it down.”
David tapped his glass against Evan’s, releasing a sigh of happiness.
After they each took a drink, Evan murmured, “Just make sure the second proposal blows the first one away. That’s really important, because she’ll compare it to the first one.”
“Well, it won’t be hard to blow the first one away, that’s for damn sure, so I’m not worried.”
“How bad was the first one?” Evan wanted to know.
“Pretty bad.”
“I need details.”
“Nope. You have more than enough blackmail material on me as it is.”
A moment later, the bathroom door opened and the sounds of Jacob running across the hall to his room could be heard, followed by Paige’s heavier steps.
“You better run, you little stinker,” they heard her calling after Jacob. “You might want to hide, too.”