Leather Jacket

Chapter 38 Shindig

"I'm going to need all hands on deck if I want everything done by tommorow. " I said looking at Marco through the mirror as I brushed my hair.

"Whatever you need , just say the word." He said , pulling his shirt over his head.

"Oh ! And I need someone to go into town to make sure everything will be done by tommorow. " I said turning around into his chest.

"And it will be." He said , placing a kiss to my lips to keep me from rambling on. "Everything will be perfect. You're prefect. " He said as I untangled myself from his hold with a blush. "I'll get someone on it and whatever else you need , our people are at your full disposal." He said as he walked out.

I tried to mentally keep a list in my head of everything I needed done and everything I still needed to go over , but you would've thought I would know better and make a physical list -on paper- than trying to remember it all with my pregnancy brain.

Walking downstairs I see everyone waiting on my commands on what needed to be done - probably Marco's handy work- and I didn't even complain about it. I loved being in control for once and having all of this power , even if it was just over a few of his men and their wives. Giving everyone their orders, I made my way out back to see if the decorations have arrived and for me only starting at 3 in the afternoon , I made quite a bit of progress for the day.

"So what time is the rave ?" Frankie asked while I cut into the chicken, dishing for myself and Dante .

"The what ?" I said confused , feeding Dante some of the mashed potatoes.

"You know ; the shindig , blow out , shebang-"

"He means the party. " Marco clarified as he looked over at me with a dorky smile.

"Oh ! Then why didn't you just say party ?" I said laughing

"Well,that wouldn't be proper use of my amazing word talent now would it ?" Frankie said proud ,stuffing bread into his mouth like a toddler.

"Of course not." I said laughing,turning back to Dante. "I think we've decided on 11 ? Right?"

"Yeah. We don't want him up for too long." Marco agreed while I tended to Dante's messy face.

"Sounds like it's going to be one hell of a party. "

"Frankie ," I warned "language. "

"Sorry. " he said with a silly smile as he put his hands up in surrender.  You would've thought it would be easier for a bunch of gang members to watch their tongue around an infant, but I guess I was wrong.

Gathering all of the plates in a pile, I feel Marco's hand on my arm pulling me back as he took the piling dishes from me.

"They've got this. Go on up to bed. We've got a big day tommorow. " He said with a smile , placing a kiss to my lips as he handed the stack of plates over to a gaping Frankie. Poor thing looked so offended to be on dish duty.

"Do you think he's going to like it ?" I asked drying my hair with the towl while Marco got dressed.

"Like it ? I think he's going to love it ! I don't think I've ever seen a first birthday this extravagant. " He said laughing while I got into bed.

"I know , but I just want it all to be perfect. " I said while I watched Marco say goodnight to Dante. After tommorow we'll have to move him into his own nursery for good. We needed to make him used to being on his own as well as prepare our room for when his brother's arrived. So tonight was a bittersweet night for me as a mother , having to see my baby grow up like this.

"You worry too much. You've done all that you could and it's going to be amazing. Now close those pretty little eyes of yours and get some rest." He said putting a kiss to my temple and turning the light off.

*****
To say I was excited , sad and stressed all at the same time would result in Marco telling me 'I'm worrying too much' again but what else could I do ? It's been a whole year since my sweet baby boy has been brought into the world. And what a rollercoaster ride it has been. To be completely frank, I didn't think I would've made it this far . I thought I would've given up by week one ,  but with the strangely amazing support system around here I managed to make it past the one year mark. They say the terrible two's are the ones you dread the most but let's be honest , being co- leader of a gang made me less afraid of what people considered 'normal '. I was more afraid of what it was going to be like tending to three infants under the age of three , than Dante's teething mood swings. I mean , I could only handle this much.

"Aaaw happy birthday my sweet baby boy ." I cooed while picking him up from his crib. It was like the older he got , the more I saw Marco in him in every possible way. He was the image of perfection. 

"Happy birthday big guy." Marco said -coming up from behind me - as he placed a kiss to Dante's head before joining my side.

"It's a big day."

"Yeah ." I said through a puff of air -feeling a bit overwhelmed - as I handed Dante over to Marco.

"You're going to be fine Alice. Everything looks great. You're an amazing mother. " He said while wrapping his right arm around me.

"You really think so ?" I asked sounding a bit more insecure than my usual character would lead on.

"I know so." He said turning towards me and placing a soft peppering kiss to my lips.

"What was that for ?"

"For giving me my son. Thank you , Alice. You've given me the family I've always dreamed of having. You've given me yourself, our beautiful son , and two more on the way. I couldn't have asked for more." He said sounding so sweet and sentimental while he placed his other hand on my protruding belly making a flutter fly through my body. I couldn't help but smile . I was so grateful to have been standing here infront of him , him holding our son as all I felt in the moment was pure and absolute joy.

"We should probably go. Can't let him be late for his own party." I said with a smile , taking the lead. The whole house was crowded with people I hardly even knew. Marco said that it was just our people and their closest allies so I tried not to think too much of it since this was Dante's day after all and they were mere supporters. Besides, if Marco trusted them enough to allow them into our home ,I should too.

"Welcome everyone. " Marco said loud with authority as the chatter died down. "It means a lot to Alice and I that you've all come together to celebrate the life of our first born and future heir of the Scorpions. " He said with a proud smile while everyone cheered. "So enjoy the party !" He yelled while everyone clapped and then disbanded into their individual little groups.

The place looked amazing, everything absolutely perfect and in it's place. I was very proud of myself even if I had to say it.  I was glad that I could've made this day special for Dante. He experimented with some Doughnuts , ice-cream and even a little bit of cotten candy and seeing his smushed , messy little face made all of this worth it. It was enough to make any mother's heart ache seeing their child with the brightest smile on their face , I even think it was the first time he smiled a real smile too so that was an accomplishment in itself.

We gathered everyone around his high chair on the deck while we placed his cake infront of him. I think this was the part I was most excited about today, seeing him launch face first into a pile of cake and icing.  I loved it !

"On three, happy birthday to you ..." Marco started as everyone joined in while I tried to keep my focus on Dante's confused yet smiling face, yet halfway through his happy birthday a pain indescribable in words rippled through my body as I bit down to try and power through. This was Dante's day and I was going to do whatever it took to keep it that way for as long as I could.

That's it ! You wouldn't believe the trouble I had writing this! It took me a hot minute to get back into my feels with this one but in the end it's good right ? Thank you so much for reading. Remember to leave your thoughts in the comment section below. Until next time keep howling my wolves ❤🐺