He jerked his head back as if she had slapped him. As he stood there holding their mud-spattered, beautiful little boy who faced so many challenges in his life and who had found a moment of joy in playing with a water hose, Rachel despised herself all over again.
Cody had been trying to help, not least of all by taking Silas off her hands for a minute. She knew how hard it was to wrestle him and get anything done. She spent all day, every day, trying to keep him out of one disaster after another.
She had taken a bad situation and made it so much worse. “I know I’m overreacting. I know. I’m sorry. I haven’t spent a birthday with Jess in forever and I just wanted everything to be perfect.”
There was that stupid word again. This time, her voice broke on it and to her dismay, Rachel felt hot tears begin to slide down.
Cody looked helpless. She knew he wanted to hug her but he was covered in mud and holding their son, also covered in mud, who was now cuddled up to him in a rare show of affection.
“We can choose to focus on what others might consider imperfection. Or we can choose to focus on the joy. Our decision, Rachel.”
She hated when he was right. Which was most of the time. She wiped at her eyes, hoping her mascara wasn’t running.
“Go clean up the two of you. I’ll see what I can do to salvage things outside.”
“I’ll be out to help as soon as I can.”
“Don’t worry about it. I can do it.”
He sighed and headed for the stairs, just as the doorbell rang. “I can get it,” she said, walking to the entry.
“We’re already here.” He opened the door and suddenly there was Jess. She took one look at the mud-splattered Cody and Silas before her gaze shifted to Rachel’s eyes, which she knew were probably red-rimmed.
“Obviously this is a bad time.”
“Not a bad time,” Cody assured her. “Just a messy situation. We had an accident with the water hose. Hi, Jess. Happy birthday. I would kiss you but Rachel would kill me if I got you muddy on your big day.”
“I wouldn’t mind. Hi, Silas.”
He ignored her, busy playing with the button on Cody’s golf shirt collar. Jess’s smile never faltered.
“We need to run and change. As soon as I take care of that, I’ll come and clean up the table out there. I think we can salvage most of the decorations.”
Rachel highly doubted it but didn’t want to argue with him in front of Jess. “Go change. I’ll check it out.”
“What can I do to help?” Jess asked after Cody left.
“Nothing. It’s your birthday party. You can sit down and relax while I go see what I need to fix out there.”
“Or I can come out and help you,” Jess said with her usual stubbornness.
Rachel sighed. “Okay. But I’m afraid it’s going to be ugly.”
“Sounds like it’s been a rough afternoon,” Jess said as they made their way back to the patio off the kitchen.
“Cody was supposed to be home an hour ago to help me but got tied up on a job site, as usual. Silas has been on a rampage all day. Cody took the kids outside to do a few things while I finished up in here and apparently Silas discovered how fun it can be to spray his sisters and father with the garden hose.”
“Who wouldn’t enjoy that?” Jess teased.
“Me. Apparently I’m the party pooper because all I can think about are the ruined decorations.”
“Like Cody said, it’s probably not as bad as that. Let’s go see.”
When they walked to the patio, Rachel wanted to cry. The big tissue flowers she had made so carefully were soaked, their colors running onto the soaked tablecloth. The place settings were wet. The live palm tree she had bought at the garden center still looked good, at least.
“We can fix this.”
“Not by the time Eleanor and her family get here,” Rachel wailed.
“First of all, they won’t care. Trust me. Second of all, I can help.”
“It’s your birthday. Your only job is to enjoy yourself. I wanted it to be perfect for you.”
“I appreciate that. And the perfect birthday for me would be one where you let me help you fix this.”
How did Jess always manage to turn things around so she ended up with her own way?
“Fine. Help me clear these dishes off and take them inside. We can’t do anything about the flowers, but I’ll figure something out. Meanwhile, I don’t want to serve food on dishes that have been sprayed with the garden hose so we’ll have to use the everyday dishes. Fortunately, they’re white and will go with anything.”
“Sounds like a plan. Operation Party Repair. Let’s do this.”
She and Jess hurriedly cleared off the cutlery, glasses and plates and carried them into the sink, then Rachel went to her linen closet. She could only be grateful she kept it organized enough that she could quickly find a pale green tablecloth of the right size.
Working quickly, she and Jess reset the table. She ended up taking a few of the extra leis that she and the girls had made and artfully arranging them along with some shells from a basket she kept in the living room.
“Beautiful,” Jess declared.
It wasn’t close to as gorgeous as the original table had been, but it would do in a pinch.
At least the night was lovely, warmer than usual with a soft, sea-scented breeze. And she had to admit, it was nice to work with Jess, united in a common cause. When they returned to the kitchen, slightly breathless from the frenzied repair job, Cody was coming down with all of the kids in tow.
Rachel mourned the girls’ hairdos, which were now damp ponytails, but had to approve of the flowered dresses they wore.
“Will this work?” Cody asked.
She wanted to say something about how the little matching muumuus would have been better. She swallowed the urge and nodded instead. “It’s good.”
“What do we need to do?”
“Start the kebabs,” she told him. “We’ve cleaned up out there. The Whitakers should be here any minute.”
“I’ll go check the coals and then come back for the meat.”
“I’ll bring it out.”
She saw that Jess was currently entertaining all three of the kids, having them give her a tour of the elaborate, though still unfinished, playhouse Cody had been working on.
When Rachel carried the platters of meat out to the grill, Cody grabbed her for a quick hug. He smelled so good right after he showered. She had bought a new soap on Etsy, scented with cedarwood and sage and citrus. It made her want to just stand and inhale his neck.