“What time is that party tonight?” Naomi asks, sucking on a popsicle. That’s her new thing. Cherry popsicles. I’ve had to limit it to two a day because that amount of sugar and synthetic dyes can’t be good for anyone.
“We’ll leave in an hour.”
“Cool. What’s the dress code?”
I look up from my laptop screen where I’ve been working on the finances, which have gotten much easier since the insurance check came in. “Um…”
Her bright red popsicle lips press together. “Please tell me you know the dress code.”
I shrug with a lopsided grin. “I mean, I’ll be wearing jeans and a button-down shirt.”
“You always wear jeans and a button-down!”
“Not true. I wear jeans and t-shirts a lot too. Also jeans and a hoodie on occasion.”
I don’t like the way she’s directing that popsicle at me. The frozen sugar water has been filed down to a point that looks like it could do some serious damage.
“You need to know these things, Uncle J! It’s different for girls. I mean, do I wear a dress? Or jeans? A sweater or a crop top?”
“Um, okay, well you’re not wearing a crop top so... And do you even own a dress?”
“Ugh. So not the point!” She throws up her arms.
I bite back a smile and focus on my screen. “Text Hadley then. Maybe she knows.”
She’s quiet for a second, and I think maybe she’s doing that until she says, “Actually, about that. When are you going to finally put on your big boy pants and ask her out?”
I cough through the water I just swallowed. “What?”
She rests her fist on her hip. “Come on, Uncle J. I’m not stupid. It’s sooo obvious you two are into each other. And she’s, like, so far out of your league too. You need to lock that shit down while you can.”
“Language,” I say, still choking on her words.
She shakes her head, the popsicle dagger in my face again. “What do you tell me all the time?”
I blink at her, a smile creeping over my lips at the miniature Ashley in front of me. “Any dream worth having will take a piece of your soul.”
“Exactly. Don’t be a wuss. Get on that.” With an emphatic shake of the popsicle, she shoves it back in her mouth with a smug look.
I grin and shake my head as she marches down the hall, totally oblivious. I can’t freaking wait for tonight, and not just because I’ll get to see Hadley. What Naomi doesn’t know is that this party has nothing to do with a Turner Artist Management client meet-and-greet as she’s been told. No, this is a good old fashioned surprise birthday party for a little girl who missed her last one.
Everyone’s here. Bring her in whenever you’re ready.
I read the text from Hadley after we pull into a parking space at the theater. My heart is racing but I can’t tell if it’s from the anticipation of the surprise, or just my standard reaction every time I get a message from Hadley. Naomi’s right. Now that I have her blessing, I do need to get on that because continuing on without Hadley in my life isn’t an option I’m interested in. A problem for later, though. For now, we have a soon-to-be twelve-year-old to celebrate. Her real birthday is tomorrow and she thinks we’ll be doing an intimate get-together with just a few of us at our place.
“You sure I look okay?” she asks for the tenth time since we left the apartment.
“You look awesome,” I say.
She does too. Her pink sweater goes perfectly with her wavy blond hair that’s resembling her natural color more and more. It’s taken a couple more (expensive) trips to the salon to get there, but you almost can’t tell where her roots meet up with the colored portion. Or so I’m told by the girls. Her hair wasn’t blond and now it is. That was pretty much the extent of my observation on the subject.
We’re coming in, I type back to Hadley.
“You look good too, Uncle J,” she says, tugging my sleeve as we start toward the building. “Hadley’s gonna like this shirt on you.”
“You think?”
“I know. She told me she thinks you’re hot.”
I swallow a chuckle. “Did she now?”
She shrugs. “Gross, but whatever.” Her gaze narrows at the entrance to the small theater. “Are you sure we’re at the right place? It doesn’t look open.”
“Hmm… pretty sure. Let me check.” I pull out my phone and pretend to look it up. “I mean, this is what the invitation said.”
“Yeah, but... maybe you should call someone.”
“Let’s try the door at least.” I pull on the handle, and we exchange a look when it opens. “Maybe they’re in another part of the building?”
We enter the dark foyer and scan the empty space.
“This doesn’t look right. They’d at least have a light on, right?” Naomi says, squinting around.
I scratch my chin. “Oh wait, look.” I point to the double doors to the auditorium where a sliver of light escapes through a crack.
She seems to relax, and we head toward it. I grip the handle and pull on the door. “After you, my lady,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady. Inside I’m jumping up and down like a five-year-old on Christmas morning.
She steps past and—
“Surprise!”
Naomi freezes in the aisle, staring at the crowd of faces with a stunned expression. “Wha… I don’t…”
I wrap my arm around her shoulders and squeeze her to my side. “Happy birthday, kiddo,” I say softly.
She looks up at me, her eyes glossy and wide. “This is for me?”
I nod, blinking back emotion of my own. So annoying how easy it is for this girl to make me choke up. “It is.”
She turns and throws her arms around my waist, and I tighten her to me. I lean down and kiss the top of her head before she releases me to face her guests again.
“Happy birthday, Naomi,” Hadley says, approaching with a wrapped gift and a giant grin.
Naomi returns it, still in shock as she takes the package with trembling hands. Everyone is here. Viv and Oliver, the rest of the band, the few friends of Naomi’s that I knew enough about to invite. Even Mason showed up with his daughter Brooklyn. Maybe that invite was a stretch, but Mason helped us through that first brutal month together, so whether Naomi knows it or not, he’s a big reason we got this far. Plus, Brooklyn was the only other kid I knew in our circles.
Hadley leans down to give Naomi a hug, and my heart explodes at the image of them locked in an embrace. Tonight is the night. Tonight I tell Hadley I want more than steamy secret hookups and flirty texts.
My nerves go haywire again at the thought. What if she doesn’t want that? What if I mess up what we do have? I’m the king of messes after all. What if she decides I’m not worth fixing?
I shove my hands in my back pockets as I watch Naomi greet her guests. Each one gets a louder squeal than the last, and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen her so happy. I was hesitant about this. A surprise party is the last thing the girl who came to my door a couple of months ago probably would have wanted. But that was before she knew she was loved. That she was important. That she has more than a family; she has a community that wants her to thrive.