JUSTICE LEANED FORWARD and blew out the candles on his birthday cake. Six candles altogether, five for his current age and one to grow on.
Around him, his parents, his Uncle Vann and Samantha, and several of his preschool friends with their parents watched as all six candles flickered.
Had someone asked him what he wanted for his birthday a few months before, he’d have said a daddy, but he had one of those now.
A good one who made his mommy smile a lot. Justice liked that. He also liked all the presents that his daddy was always bringing home for both him and his mommy. Sometimes he didn’t understand their giggles, but adults were like that sometimes. Kind of weird and not always as smart as they should be.
After all, he’d been the one to have to go to bring his daddy home. Something his parents had scolded him severely for. How was he supposed to have known that his daddy had already come home and wouldn’t be leaving ever again?
Despite the fact that he’d been grounded from the computer—and it wasn’t as if he was going to arrange for a taxi pickup at his school again anyway—and hadn’t been allowed to play video games for a whole week, Justice didn’t mind since he now had his daddy and mommy all the time.
Only they were so busy looking all googly-eyed at each other and kissing each other that sometimes a kid just needed someone his own size to commiserate with.
He blew a bit harder, pushing every last bit of air out of his lungs, watching the last candle go out and made his wish.
He grinned, rubbed his hands together, and looked up at his parents, and couldn’t wait for his wish to come true.
Wonder if he’d have a brother or a sister?
He hoped for a brother, but a sister would be okay, too. Maybe.
“What did you wish for, son?” his daddy asked, his arm around his mom’s waist as it usually was.
Justice rolled his eyes at his parents. Didn’t they know anything? “I can’t tell you or it won’t come true, but that’s okay, because you will find out anyway when the stork shows up.”
“The stork?” Ross and Brielle asked at the same time, eyes wide, then looked at each other and smiled as his hand slid around to cup her belly.
Justice wrinkled his nose at the goofy way they were looking at each other and smiling.
His Uncle Vann and Samantha’s gazes went to his mom’s belly, their mouths dropping open as his mom just smiled and nodded.
Adults. They were so weird.
Justice dipped his finger in his cake, came up with a big dollop of icing, and stuck it in his mouth.
“Mmmmm,” he said, grinning as a camera flash went off, then another. “Is it time for presents yet?”
Because he really couldn’t wait to find out if storks made same day deliveries.
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