Cool Mom

14: Last Day

"Vanessa, I'm sick." Hazels tells her dog.

Today is our last day in Paris. Hazel may have gotten sick but we still had an amazing time.

I unlock my phone and scroll through the notifications, leaving the usual emails and messages from friends for later. There is one message that I open to read. It's from Daniel's brother's wife, my sister-in-law, Elana.

Hey Emma!

We are throwing Morgan, a birthday party next Friday. We mailed you an invitation but since you guys aren't home, I wanted to let you know.

"Bye bye." Hazel waves at the laptop screen as the dog-sitter ends their video call.

"It's Morgan's birthday next weekend." I tell Hazel as Daniel walks into the dining area.

"Yaay!" She squeals.

"Elana messaged me." I add to Daniel.

"Please tell me you aren't going." He pleads.

"You might not get along with your older brother but he's still your family, our family. Hazel and I are going." I reply, giving him the sternest look I can muster.

He huffs and pouts, making me laugh as Hazel asks. "Can I buy him a present from Paris?"

"No." Daniel says as I say. "Of course."

"Daniel!" I reprimand.

"Okay. Fine." He pouts again, this time I kiss his cheek before taking Hazel to her bedroom to get changed.

Two hours later, we've had breakfast and are on our way to the nearest shopping mall. Hazel hands me a juice box she grabbed from the breakfast buffet while we were leaving. I start to insert the straw but the juice spills onto my hands and thankfully stops there.

Groaning, I pull out tissues from my purse and wipe away the mess before handing Hazel the box which she sips from and then I wipe my hands clean. I'm forced to look up when a bunch of roses slips under my face.

I was so busy cleaning the mess that I didn't notice that Daniel had stopped in front of a florist.

"Aww Daniel." I say, pulling him in for a kiss. "Thank you."

"Had to make it up to you for Valentine's Day." He kisses my nose.

"You bought me a diamond bracelet and brought us to Paris!" I gawk at him.

"Yeah but I forgot the roses." He shrugs as he plucks a rose from my bouquet and rolls it in two layers of tissue paper before turning in his seat and holding it out to Hazel.

"Thank you daddy." She smiles at him, leaning forward as far as she can in her car seat and kisses his cheek.

"Anything for my little girl." He smiles at his daughter before turning back around and starting to drive again.

I smile at the flowers in my hand and look out of my window, cherishing the moment.

We descend to the mall's underground parking and find an empty spot before taking an escalator to the ground floor.

We brought Hazel's pram with us because she's still too weak to walk. She points out things to us as we walk through the mall, making us stop at one shop after the other.

When we've explored two complete floors, I make Daniel stop for a minute and stoop down in front of Hazel.

"What do you want to buy Morgan?" I ask.

"Umm..." She just shrugs.

I sigh. "Alright. Let's see what we can find."

Suddenly Hazel starts jumping in the pram and we're forced to stop again to check what she's so excited about.

"Toy shop!" She screams, pointing at one which is huge, really huge.

We walk in and Hazel goes wild. She forgets that she's sick or that she can't walk. She just jumps out of the pram forgetting that she's buckled in. I have to make her wait for a second while I unbuckle her then she races off towards I don't know where.

Daniel and I sigh as we watch her run away.

"I'll go after her." He says, walking to the aisle she just vanished into.

I look around the store and realize that it's arranged in sections. There are a whole ten racks for dolls, another ten for stuffed toys and everything from a child's dream. No matter Hazel is still nowhere to be seen.

I wander into the Lego section, pushing the pram and a box on the first rack catches my eye. It's an Eiffel Tower Lego structure for children ages 8-12. A perfect gift for Morgan. A toy, which he'll love yet also a souvenir. Tucking a box under my arm I walk from aisle to aisle looking for Daniel and Hazel but I don't find them.

Finally, I walk back to the counter where they're already waiting for me. My eyes widen as I see everything Hazel's holding. Two Barbie dolls, an Olaf stuffed toy and a Teletubbies swim suit.

"What are you going to do with all of these?" I ask, stopping in front of them.

"I want these dolls and Olaf is CUTE!" She screams. "This is for swimming."

"And you're going to let her buy all this?" I look at Daniel, who just shrugs. Of course, they're just a few toys.

"But Daniel..." I start to protest that we're spoiling her way too much.

"Bunny, promise mommy that no more toys for a few months." Daniel says to Hazel.

"Promise mommy." She says.

"Okay." I sigh. "We'll see about that."

"What's that?" She asks, pointing towards the Lego box.

"Morgan's gift." I show her the box and she tells me that she likes it. I quickly make Daniel pay for the toys before she decides she wants something else as well.

We spend half the day at the mall, we all buy clothes from French brands and Hazel finds a pink cushion for Vanessa with, Vanessa written on it.

After a late lunch we retire to our hotel to rest and pack as we leave first thing after breakfast tomorrow.