Remember When ↠ l.p.

Untitled Part 164

A short while later we're all about finished with our dinner and Mother has already started to take up the girls plates, her own, and dad's. I fix Tessie with a look, hoping she remembers the secret code we worked out earlier, and slowly pull on my earlobe. Her eyes widen and she nods, then leans over to start an animated conversation with Cailyn. Liam glances over, puzzled. I smile sweetly and hand him Darcy, Louis snorts from a few seats down as I shuffle past his chair. 

"Just hand off my daughter when you've grown bored of her? I see how it is. Good thing I didn't make you godmother." He hisses at me as I go past.

I glance at the girls, making sure none of them are looking and flip him off from behind Harry's back. He returns the favor, grinning again now. I make a face at him and hurry into the kitchen. I take the tray of cupcakes down from the shelf were I've hidden them and set them down on the counter. I pull a match out of the pack we keep on one of the highest shelves, well out of the girls' reach and nearly out of mine. I light the candles on several of the cupcakes and carefully begin to bring them over to the table. Mother follows behind me, a hand hovering near mine. I suppose she's afraid I'll drop them and, in hindsight, I probably should have had someone help me carry them, but I'll make it to the table. 

Tessie turns around slightly and notices that I'm nearly to the table. She lets out an uncommonly loud squeal and turns around to hug Cailyn as best she can without falling out of her chair. "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you," she starts singing, Mother and I quickly joining in with her.

Everyone else takes notice of what's going on and starts singing along with us, I pull even with the table and Cailyn turns to see what all the fuss is about. "Oh!" She gasps, barely audible over the sound of everyone singing to her. 

"Happy birthday to you!!" We finish loudly and just as I manage to set the cupcakes down in front of Cailyn. Mother's holding my waist, as I've had to lean over Tessie's chair to get the tray in the cleared area in front of Cailyn. She's clapping and beaming (Harry along with her as he glances around the table, jumping from person to person) and she leans forward, pauses dramatically with her eyes clenched shut, and then blows out the candles.

"Do you like them?" I ask her as I walk around behind her chair to hug her, wrapping my arms around her chest and kissing her forehead. I watch as she examines each cupcake, after all they're all decorated differently.

"OMG! Mommy I love them!!!" She stands up on her chair so she hug me properly. I meet Mother's eyes over her shoulder and exchange a wide-eyed look. Cailyn pulls back and kisses me on both cheeks, hands firmly planted on my face to keep it in place. "How many can I eat, because I want to eat them all!"

I laugh and tickle her sides. I'm so glad that she likes them. "Well you can't eat them all because I'm sure your friends and Uncle Harry will want some to eat too. And what about Grandma and Grandpa?" Her face falls and she nods sadly. "Did you honestly think that I would let you eat them all? I question her, stunned that she would think that of me.

"I didn't know! I thought maybe because Tessie said you were so excited about them that you would. You know, that you really wanted me to be happy with them so they'd be only for me?" She smiles up at me so sweetly that I almost promise her all of the cupcakes and another batch tomorrow. I'm glad she's not growing up too quickly, although I am going to have to speak to her about that 'omg' she uttered earlier. I'll also have to question how the secret of the cupcakes got leaked by a certain someone.

"Hmmm, maybe if no one else minds you can have the majority of the cupcakes. But you can't have the all today! You've had enough sugar in your system already. Plus," I add, pulling her in for another hug because how cute is she?! "You don't need any sugar, you're so sweet already!" 

"Yaw!" She cheers as she sits back down in her chair. "How many can I have right now?"

"Let's say two for right now, so pick wisely." I tell her, hoping she picks the one with the dolphin on it because I spent a good fifteen minutes trying to get it just right. Drawing is not my forte and drawing with icing? Ten times harder. I pass out the paper plates and help Mother to move the other desserts to the middle of the table.

Cailyn soon announces proudly which two cupcakes she has chosen, I'm happy to see that the dolphin cupcake is one of them, the other cupcake being one with extra icing in the shape of flowers. As I return to my seat Louis gives me a confused glance. "Why did you say that Harry especially would want a cupcake? They're not his favorite dessert..."

"Oh," I flush slightly "I just said that because we always used to call him cupcake. I don't know why really. He just looked so cute and..." I trail off as Louis is now smirking again. "Ugh forget it okay, we would just call him cupcake sometimes, let's leave it at that. I'm ignoring you because you're daughter is more deserving!" I inform him as I hurry back to where Liam is waiting patiently with Darcy sucking on his thumb quite contentedly.