Dorian and Rebecca's 5th Birthday Party
Skylar's Point of View
Squealing and laughter greet me as I walk out onto the back porch with the cupcakes. Kids are running around spraying each other with water guns while the adults sit around the table and chat. The sky is a bright blue, the sun is warm on the skin and everything is right in the world as I sit the cupcakes onto the table. I give Ville a peck on the cheek then call everyone to gather around. Dorian and Becca argue over who will get to blow the candles out but their squabble is soon put to rest as Bam comes over and sits a small cake down in front of each of them. Dorian got the Lion King cake that he had been asking for while Becca got a Pokemon cake she wanted. They squeal and say thank you before blowing out the candles and digging in. I start handing out cupcakes and ice cream cups.
After cake and ice cream,Ville and I clean up and prepare the table for presents. The kids sit down and we start handing them gifts. There is courses of oohs and ahhs, screams of happiness and a lot of thank yous. The kids play with their new toys but soon the guests start trickling out. Once all the guests are gone, the trash has been picked up and everyone has settled down in the living room, Ville gathers the kids and announces that we have one more gift to give them.
"So this gift is a bit different than the ones you've opened," Ville explains as he kneels down next to them. "This gift isn't one we can give to you right now because you both have to pick it out yourself." Dorian and Becca look at him, trying to figure out what he's saying. I squat down next to Ville and finish telling them what's going on.
"What you're father is trying to get at is, tomorrow the four of us are going to go to the shelter and adopt a dog and a cat. Just like you guys have been asking for." Their faces light up and they barrel into us while screaming with joy. For the rest of the night that's all they talk about, what kind of pet they want, what color, size, gender, big ears, wagging tail, anything and everything, they want it all. Ville laughs and ushers them out of the living room so they can get ready for bed.
"They are a funny bunch," Bam says, plopping down onto the couch. I agree as I stand up and stretch. I head over and sit down next to Bam, leaning my head on his shoulder. We sit like that for a while, listening to the distant sound of Ville laughing with his children.
"I want to thank you," Bam says quietly.
"For what?" I reply.
"For believing in me when no one else would. Five years ago I was a wreck, a depressed, suicidal, alcoholic with nothing to live for. That is until you convinced Ville that I needed to be around to help you with your children. I know he didn't want me around. I know that a small part of him hated me for all the pain and suffering I had put you through. I was an ass. I was horrible and I didn't deserve the kindness you showed me. But because of that kindness, I'm a better person. I have a steady girlfriend and a loving family. I have a life worth living."
Bam shifts and turns to look at me. He cups my face in his hands and smiles.
"It's all because of you. So thank you for everything." He pulls me to him and wraps his arms around me, resting his head on my shoulder. I wrap my arms around him and relax into his embrace. I talk while hugging him.
"You have nothing to thank me for. If it weren't for you I would have been dead a long time ago. You had always been by my side, saved me from an abusive home and an abusive relationship. You are now and forever will be my best friend in this whole world. I should have been there sooner for you."
"Shush, it's all in the past now. But I do think it's time I told you what happened." I tense up, ready to pull away but Bam tightens his hug. I relax my body once again and he continues speaking.
"Her name was Evangeline. She was the most beautiful, smartest, funniest, amazing person I've ever met. She could cook, sing, draw, dance. God she was the best."
"After you had left the first time with Ville to come to Finland, after you had the run in with him and cut your wrists, I started drinking. It got bad real quick. I had met her one day at the bar that had quickly became my second home. She was sitting all alone in a corner booth, sweat pants and a hoodie furiously scribbling in her sketch book. I wandered over and asked if she wanted some company. Naturally, she shot me down right away so I left. The next night she was in the same spot, still scribbling away. The next night was the same, and the night after that, and the night after that. I had asked the bartender about her and all I got was she's been doing that for a while."
"One night some guys, big and buff, had walked over to her and started harassing her. One of them grabbed her sketch book and held it up out of her reach. She tried to get it back but the other guy pushed her down into the booth. I got up and stormed over to them. I snatched the book away and told them to fuck off. They both turned on me. Needless to say you know how that went down. I ended up at the hospital with stitches in my head."
"After about a week I started going back to the bar. She wasn't there the first few nights but she soon made an appearance. She shyly asked if I would sit with her. I said sure and she bought me a beer and some food."
"She thanked me for saving her and her sketch book. I just shrugged it off as no big deal. We talked for a while, exchanged numbers then left for the night."
"It started out slow; she was very shy and got scared easily. So I let her take her time. When things started picking up I started noticing sighs that lead me to believe she was being abused. The same signs I learned from when you were with him." I give Bam a light squeeze as a thank you for not saying Tony's name. He squeezes back then continues talking.
"I didn't push her for answers, I knew that would only lead to her pushing me away, but I also didn't know how to help her. She didn't talk about it. She didn't hint that anything was going on at all. But I knew. I know I did. It was in the way she would flinch if I moved too fast, or raised my voice slightly. It was in the way that she wouldn't hug me for very long, and the kisses were quick, like she wanted to get it over as quick as possible. She was afraid and yet, at the same time, she didn't want to be, at least with me. She would linger when we say we have to head home. She would try to keep the conversation going when we would talk on the phone."
"I still remember all those times when her eyes would light up when she saw me, but they quickly glossed over with fear and I would see her physically shake herself to make it go away, but it was always there."
"A few weeks passed and we were doing good. Then one day she just shuts me out. Refuses to see me or even talk to me. I didn't know what I did wrong but it hurt, a lot. That's when I called you and begged you to take me back. I just couldn't stand to be alone. It just hurt so much."
"A few days after I had called you, Eva came to me bruised and crying. I had asked what happened but she just kept shaking her head and saying no. So I just held her while she cried. Eventually, after I gently pushed the issue, she told me her step brother had beat her. I didn't hesitate to tell her to come live with me. Of course she denied, so then I told her at least let me get her a place of her own, or a hotel, just something away from her step brother. She didn't have a lot of money so her only option was to live with him. She reluctantly agreed to a hotel."
"I stayed with her often, talking to her and helping her through the abuse. It had been going on for a while and her only haven was the bar. She was friends with the owner and he would tell her if her step brother came in looking for her. The bouncer would then distract him so she could go hide."
"One day we were eating at the bar when her step brother came in. He started screaming and accusing her of anything he could think of. The police were called he was arrested for stealing and rape. I guess the girl he raped was the chief's daughter. Once he was put away for good, thing got better between us. We got close and eventually we did have sex. We were both finally happy. Then she told me she was pregnant."
"I didn't know how to react. I never thought I would ever have kids, let alone be a good father. I was scared, and I know she was too. But she wanted to have the kid. So I stayed by her side. I loved her and didn't want to abandon her."
"One day we had gotten into an argument. It was bad. We were screaming at each other and in the end she walked out the front door and didn't come back." Bam takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. He stays silent for a few moments. When he speaks again, there's pain in his voice, so raw and so real it's almost palpable.
"She was hit by a driver who ran a red light. She died instantly from what the cops had told me. I don't remember much to be honest. All I know is my life was over. She was my everything and it was gone, just like that. No time for goodbyes or even one more I love you. The last thing I told her was how she was being a bitch. And that hurts more than anything else." Bam stops talking and just holds me, his body shaking with his quiet sobs.
I sit there and think about what I had been told. All the pain and suffering Bam had been through. And how I didn't help at all by playing with his emotions, cutting him out and then throwing everything he had lost back into his face. Even though I didn't know the extent of what he had lost back then, I still feel terrible and I have no idea what to say to him.
After a while Bam lets go of me and disappears upstairs. I follow suit and head to bed, knowing that I won't be able to get any sleep at all.
A few years have passed and life is great. Ville and the band retired, all of them wanting to focus on their own lives. Bam never told anyone else about what happened with Evangeline. For his sake I also kept it quiet. He found someone new not too long after he told me his story. They seem really happy.
The kids are growing up quickly, it seems like every week I'm buying Dorian a new set of jeans. He takes so much after his father. Sixteen years old and he's already taller than me, with dark hair. Only his eyes gives away that he isn't a clone of Ville's. Icy blue like the sky in the winter. He loves to sing and play piano, but also loves to draw. He's a quiet kid around most, but when he's with his friends or around his crazy uncles, he's the life of the party. He laughs at something his boyfriend says and gives him a quick kiss on the cheek, then looks around and hopes no one noticed. I look away and pretend I didn't see it.
His sister Rebecca is a mixture of us two. She has my blond hair but her father's eyes, green like grass after a fresh rain. When she was younger, she wanted to do gymnastics. She was good at them, got fist place quite a few times. Then a few years ago she said she didn't want to do them anymore. She wants to work with animals now, help conserve their habitats and help rebuild populations. She helps out at the zoo all the time. It's like her second home. She also helps out at the shelter. She fosters those who need a little extra help and sometimes she'll bring home older dogs who don't have much longer to live. She tells me that it's because she wants them to know what it's like to have home and that she wants them to feel loved. I hear her talking to one of those dogs now, Hatter, in the kitchen. She's laughing and telling him that if he sits, she'll give him some food.
Ville comes up from behind and leans on the back of the couch. He kisses my cheek then nuzzles my neck.
"What are you reading?" he asks, coming around the couch to sit next to me.
"Wings of Fire," I reply.
"What's it about?"
"Dragons," I say with a smile on my face. He laughs and rolls his eyes.
"Clearly, there's a dragon on the cover."
"Knock, Knock," a voice says from behind.
"Uncle Bam!" Rebecca shouts, running through the house to give him a hug. Hatter is trotting behind her. Dorian and his boyfriend, Tyler walk in from the back porch to say hi.
Bam walks into the living room followed by his fiancé Layla. We all sit down and catch up on each other lives. Then Bam tells us that he has some news for us.
"So we have been thinking about this a lot and we wanted you guys to be the first to know. We're going to have a kid." Dorian and Rebecca celebrate while Ville and I just stare at him. Lalya can't have kids. She lost that ability a while ago.
"We are going to adopt a pair of kids. They are almost twelve. My sister who works at the orphanage says they have been passed up so many times. They are real sweet, have a few issues, but that's to be expected. We just thought now is a good time to expand our family," Layla explains.
"I'm really happy for you guys," I say enthusiastically. "We will welcome them with open arms."
The rest of the night is filled with us talking about the new kids, and how much love they are going to get from everyone. That night, as I lay in bed with Ville, I think about everything that has happened in each of our lives. I think about the bad times, and the good. I think about all the laughter, and tears and hugs, kisses, all of it and how it changed each of us, and I think it changed us for the better. I roll over and snuggle closer to Ville. As I drift off to sleep, my last thought is that everything is all right in the world.