A Mother's Bond

70

"Happy birthday to you," he sang.

Everyone quickly joined in, adding unnecessary runs and trills. Solo even broke out into a little dance for me, throwing in a few body rolls to make me laugh. I looked around at everyone, feeling weirdly close to crying. I'd never had this before. All this love.

When they finished the song, Dad knelt down and held the cake in front of me.

"Go on, you can make your wish and blow out the candles," he encouraged.

"Don't blow too hard though. I don't want spit covered cake," Solo advised.

Mama slapped the back of her head which immediately earned her a slap from Grandma.

"What'd I say about slapping people," Grandma asked.

Mama frowned. "But you always slap me back. What kinda example is that?"

Grandma slapped her again. "Stop talking back."

Aunty Kellz snickered and Mama clapped her hand with her fist, threateningly.

Aunty Michelle shook her head at all of them. "Can't you see the child is trying to think of a wish? Acting like some damn fools." She turned to me apologetically. "They're sorry, baby. You can make your wish now."

I looked around at my family and friends and realized for the first time, I didn't want anything. There wasn't any deep, buried dissatisfaction with my life. No hidden desires. Sure, I still had things I had to work on, but who didn't? All I wanted was for life to continue like this. Moving forward with the people I loved.

I grinned and blew out the candles. They all clapped and cheered, swarming me with hugs and kisses. I mean, everyone except Nevaeh who gave me an awkward thumbs up.

After we ate our cake, I decided to pull her aside because a thumbs up was just not it. I never wanted to see that shit again. I grabbed her hand and led her out to the balcony for some privacy. As soon as we were outside, I turned to her.

She stared at me, and I stared at her. After a few seconds I raised my fist, sticking up my thumb. I shook my head, and she laughed.

"Okay, I don't know why I did that," she confessed, moving closer to me.

"I don't know why either," I laughed, meeting her halfway. "It was so weird."

"Can I get a redo?" She asked as she wrapped her arms around my waist.

I shrugged, smiling. "I don't know. You planning on giving me a high five next?"

Vaeh laughed and shook her head. "No. No high fives." She cupped my face in her hands. "Happy birthday, Ray," she whispered on my lips before kissing me. Her tongue darted out, easily sliding past my defenses. I welcomed her tongue with my own, tasting hints of the cookies and cream cake we'd just eaten.

"Hey, I'm sorry about how I've been acting today," she apologized.

I shrugged it off. "It's okay."

"No. It's not. I was acting like...I don't even know what, today."

I nodded. "Yeah. I didn't take you for the jealous type."

She scrunched up her face. "I wasn't jealous. Well not for the reasons you think," she amended when she saw my disbelieving expression. "I was jealous. When you were talking about Deanna and listing everything you admired about her, it just reminded me I don't really have much to bring to the table."

I frowned, tugging on her chain. "I never asked you to bring anything to table. Just yourself. I don't even know why you're comparing yourself to Deanna. If I compared myself to Deanna, I'd fall way short. My biggest accomplishment is being the daughter of legends. That's really it. Being born." I laughed. "So, don't worry about that stuff."