A link to the Nashville house that Taylor and Ellie are living in: https://www.redfin.com/TN/Madison/1020-Gibson-Dr-37115/home/60679988
It was two o'clock in the morning, and Taylor was still wrapping Ellie's presents. It would have helped if she'd started earlier - but she'd been so busy getting everything perfect for Ellie's first birthday with her. It was August 12th, and the two of them had been in their Nashville home for... this would be their third night. Ellie had never had a birthday before and the child had practically been bouncing off the walls all of yesterday because she'd been so excited. Taylor was even more excited than that.
The house was gorgeous. It was summer and it was crickets in the even, it was rocking chairs on the front porch and Taylor was even looking into getting a couple of horses. She figured that she wanted chickens, too. She'd never felt like this before. In their secluded home, that she'd managed to keep from the world. Ellie loved it here. She loved trying to climb the trees, and they'd ventured down to the creek a couple of times too. It was unlike anything Taylor had ever experienced. Ever. It was childhood.
Here she was, sitting at the kitchen table, wrapping Ellie's gifts. She smiled, because she'd never imagined doing this. Sitting in a kitchen with Bluey wrapping paper and listening to an audiobook in a new house in Nashville... Taylor couldn't believe it. The house had been renovated and the smell of paint still lingered, but Taylor liked it. The bones of the house remained the same, but it still didn't feel like home yet.
Gracie was arriving in the morning with her boyfriend - Taylor hadn't actually met him before. But Ellie had begged for Gracie to be there, and Gracie was keeping that promise. Taylor didn't know what she thought of Miles, Gracie's boyfriend. Sure, Taylor herself didn't have a winning streak of Prince Charming's lined down the driveway... but she also wanted the best for Gracie. She was protective of her favourite people.
Wrapping the final gift - it was a copy of Little Red Riding Hood - because Taylor knew how important it was to her. She'd wrapped the presents while the cake was cooling in front of an open window. She stood up, crumbling all the cut outs of wrapping paper into a ball and moved to throw them in the rubbish. Then, she moved all of the gifts into the lounge, and set them up nicely. The biggest gift was outside - it was a jungle gym. It had a slide and a climbing wall and a fireman's pole, it had a swing and monkey bars. Ellie would love it. It was sitting in front of the porch, and Taylor knew Ellie would be excited to climb on it.
It was weird, going from being on tour and performing for thousands and thousands of people... to living this life. In a quiet home, on a large section of land. It was so weird. But she didn't hate it, it was just... different. Taylor was nervous about next week. Today was Saturday, and on Monday, Ellie had her first support group meeting.
Taylor frowned just thinking about it. She'd found a support group for kids who had been adopted after suffering abuse and neglect. It was run by a friend of Taylor's own therapist - and initially Taylor had been reluctant to even consider it. Because while Ellie was in her group, with kids that have been through a similar experience... Taylor would be next door in a support group for the parents.
Of course, that worried her. She didn't like meeting new people. Normal people. With normal jobs and normal lives. She ran her hands through her hair as she thought about what was coming. She'd have to face a whole crowd of people... strangers. But it was important for Ellie to go and meet kids that have been through something traumatic like she had.
Taylor padded across the wooden floor, back to the kitchen. The crickets were the perfect symphony, and she could faintly hear the creek, and the leaves whispering sweet nothings to her.
Sweet nothing. Taylor sighed. Sometimes she missed him. Sometimes she missed having someone to tell things to. Sure, she had Gracie, and she had her parents and Blake and Selena and Abigail. But they weren't the same. She'd spent so many years with him, and she couldn't help but miss having him to talk to. Joe had been an asshole towards the end, but still, she missed him. She wished she could turn off those feelings but she couldn't, even when she tried her hardest.
Ellie had requested a "Bluey rainbow shimmer butterfly cake' and Taylor had pretended to know exactly what she'd meant. So she'd done what she did best - and got creative. There was a certain episode that Taylor loved watching, it was season three episode eighteen. She laughed to herself when she realised she knew every episode off by heart. The episode was called Rain, and Taylor had gotten a certain scene printed onto a chocolate disk at a local bakery.
It was Bluey and her Mom, looking over at a double rainbow. Taylor didn't know if that's what Ellie had meant by her cake request, but Taylor had brought edible glitter and edible wafer butterflies. Quickly making the icing, which she made a light blue colour, she began decorating the cake.
Ellie's tummy was full of butterflies, she was sure of it. She woke up to the summer sun peaking through a gap in the curtains, and she cuddles Wendy close.
"It's my birthday!" She'd done that every year, but this was the first year where she was going to be celebrated. Her mom hadn't given anything away, but Ellie knew she was up to something. Taylor was like that. She also knew that Taylor had been up super late last night, and wanted her to be able to sleep in - even just a little bit. So she quietly crawled out of bed, pulling her book off the nightstand and went to sit behind the curtains on the windowsill. Ellie had never ever imagined she'd live in a house like this one. Of course, she'd dreamed about it. But to be living it for real life? To have a literal meadow at the palm of her hands and a creek and a barn and Taylor had even mentioned horses and chickens!!! Benji, Meredith and Olivia were slowly finding their feet in the new house - Ellie knew for a fact that Meredith had slept on her toes last night. She'd woken up to a heavy lump on them, and the gentle hum of a cat purring in her ears.
Ellie was currently reading the Rainbow Magic series - she was only up to the fourth book in the series - which was Fern the Green Fairy. Blake had gotten her the first seven books as a gift before they left the city. Ellie loved them, and she loved the fact that they were hers. And that Taylor wouldn't ruin them, that they'd stay pretty and perfect forever. Ellie looked out the window, distracted by the view. She was nine years old today. She never found out exactly what time she was born, but today was her birthday. It was her birthday! Ellie grinned, brushing her hair out of her face. She'd been so excited last night that she couldn't sleep, no matter how hard she tried. She'd ended up reading the entirety of the third Rainbow Magic book before she'd fallen asleep.
Ellie slipped out from behind the curtains when she heard Taylor wake up.
"Good morning birthday girl!" Her Mom greeted her with the biggest half asleep smile that Ellie had ever seen.
Ellie leapt onto the bed and Taylor pulled her into her chest. She'd dreamed about this sort of birthday greeting her whole life. And she was living it right now.
"Happy birthday!" Taylor kissed her cheek and Ellie giggled. "You're a big nine year old now!"
"I am!" Ellie beamed. "Look, I'm up to the fourth book now!" She held up the copy of the book and loved when her Mom got excited about it.
"Wow! You're such a speedy reader! I'm proud of you! What do you want to do today, little birthday bee?" Her Mom kissed her cheek again, and Ellie had never felt so loved in her entire life. "Gracie's coming in a couple of hours."
Ellie was excited to see Gracie, and there was even a bit of her that was excited to meet her boyfriend, too. Gracie said he was great, and she believed her.
"Can weeee... have breakfast out on the porch? In the sun?" Ellie asked her.
"Do you want to open your presents first?" Taylor asked her, and Ellie felt her heart skip a beat.
"You got me presents?" Her little voice cracked. She'd never really had presents before - not on her birthday, not at Christmas.
"Of course I did. Do you want to go downstairs and have a look?"
"You're really serious?" Ellie couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe that Taylor would want to go to all of this trouble... just for her. On her birthday. She'd never had presents on her birthday before. With real wrapping paper. Sometimes... back in her old life, she'd wrap up Wendy in an old shirt and pretended to open her for the first time.
"I'm super serious," Taylor told her with a smile. "Let's go and have a look," she beamed, and Ellie felt excitement stir within her chest.
Ellie padded across the floor in her purple Bluey pyjamas, holding Taylor's hand. There had been plenty of moments that she simply couldn't comprehend, but this was one of them. She couldn't believe it. Her luck, her life, her Mom, the whole package. But the fact this was her first birthday where she was actually celebrated and cherished? Ellie's heart was breaking in the best possible way. It was breaking from happiness. It was melting and fluttering and beating and she just wished she could capture this feeling.
Once they were down at the bottom of the stairs, Taylor told Ellie to close her eyes. Ellie would have been terrified to close her eyes in front of a grown up once upon a time, but now? She closed her eyes immediately. And she even had a smile.
"I'll help you," Ellie could hear her Mom's smile even though her eyes were closed.
Ellie was shaking, her fingertips were trembling with excitement. It was her birthday!
"Alright, little bee. Open your eyes."
There were so many presents. Ellie knew she couldn't even count them all on her fingertips, there were so many. Her Mom had been so busy with the end of tour and sorting out the new house and everything but she'd still done all of this. Ellie wouldn't have cared if she didn't have presents - all she wanted was what she had already. For Taylor to be her mom. But Taylor had put in all of this effort, even with all of the stress from the last week.
There was a Bluey banner that had HAPPY BIRTHDAY on it, there were fairy lights and balloons and ribbons hanging from the ceiling and Ellie couldn't help but let out a little tear.
She'd never believed that she was worth all of this. She'd never believed that she would ever belong in a home that thought she was worthy of something like this. She couldn't quite believe it, because she was here and she was looking over at all of the presents and the decorations and she wanted to pinch herself. She really believed she must be dreaming.
Taylor had never seen anything as precious as Ellie's face as she saw those presents. She'd never seen anything as priceless. The shock that turned into disbelief that turned into a smile that turned into tears as the now nine year old felt all of these big emotions.
"Happy birthday, Ellie." She leaned down and kissed her head.
"You really... did all this for me?"
Taylor smiled, pulling the child into her. "Of course I did. Go on, open them up." Taylor gently nudged her.
"Really?" Ellie's face was illuminated with excitement. "Like, I get to open every single one?"
Taylor laughed. "Yep! Every single one."
Gracie was so excited to see Ellie and Taylor again. She was sitting in the drive through at Starbucks, her boyfriend Miles, sitting beside her. She'd figured that she'd bring the two of them a couple of drinks. Ellie loved the pink drink, and seeing as it was her birthday, she figured she'd surprise her with one.
"I literally cannot imagine Taylor Swift having a kid," Miles thought out loud. Gracie frowned.
"And why not?"
"I don't know, but I just can't imagine it."
She subtly rolled her eyes. "She's the sweetest little kid ever."
"I don't know, I don't think I ever imagined myself having kids."
"I thought that too, but then I met her and she's just so incredible."
He chuckled. "You're cute, G. I love you," he looked over at her with a grin. "You look so pretty today. I like your hair like that."
Gracie blushed.
Ellie opened every present with the upmost care, and she appreciated every little thing she'd got from Taylor. There were loads of books and colouring books and Bluey things... but most of all, it was the fact that Taylor was going to take her to the Plaza hotel. To stay in the Eloise themed room, and Ellie couldn't believe her luck. It was just... it was so much.
There was a knock on the door as she was opening her final gift.
"Is that Gracie?" Ellie still flinched when she heard a knock on the door, because it just reminded her of being taken away from Taylor. It reminded her of that horrible time in her life that she wished she could forget. As much as she loved her new life here, she couldn't leave the old one behind.
She still dreamt of her mother, lying there with blood coming out of her nose. Sometimes her Mother was like a zombie, and other times Ellie couldn't move as her Mother hit her.
"It's Gracie!" Taylor smiled, peering through the window. "And Miles!"
Ellie was skeptical of Gracie's boyfriend. She loved Gracie and she didn't want just anyone getting to spend their lives with her. If she were honest, it was because she was worried that all men were a little bit like her father. She thought that all of them were bad. Taylor had told her that wasn't true, but it would take time for Ellie to believe it herself. She knew that James' Dad was great, he always made them laugh... and she liked her Mom's dad, Scott, too.
So Ellie ran over to Gracie anyway, and smiled at Miles.
"Hey superstar!" Gracie beamed. "This is Miles."
"Nice to meet you, Ellie. Gracie's told me a lot about you. She wouldn't stop talking about just how excited she was the whole way here!"
Ellie glanced over at him and smiled politely. She didn't overly like his tone. But then again, he was smiling. And it was her birthday. So it was quickly forgotten.
"Happy birthday Ellie!" Gracie grinned.
Ellie smiled. "Mom got me so many presents and she says we can have breakfast outside and everything!"
"Woah!" Gracie pulled Taylor in for a hug too. "I swear you've grown overnight, Ellie. You're so tall now!"
Ellie shook her head. "Noooo! I can't have! I'm only eight... wait... nine!"
And she knew it was going to be her favourite year yet.