Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
They started dating when he came back for Christmas break, and things just clicked. He cherishes the ground she walks on and will do whatever he has to just to see her smile.
“Aiden.” Dad looks over at him. “Do you know how to ride a bike?” he asks him.
“Oui,” Yes, he answers in French.
“That’s good.” He drinks some coffee. “What sports do you like to play?”
“I like to play football,” he answers, syrup dripping down his chin.
“Football?” my father asks.
“It’s soccer, Dad,” I say. “It’s called football in Europe.”
“Great,” he says. “I’m going to ask around and get him on a team.”
“That would be great,” I say. “Tomorrow, we are going to check out the new school.”
“Yeah, I’m going to grade one.” He puts out his hand with one finger held up to show my parents.
We finish breakfast, and my mother washes off Aiden’s sticky hands and mouth. “Did you get any syrup in your mouth?” she asks while tickling his stomach.
“Let’s go get you dressed for the party,” I say, grabbing his hand and walking upstairs. My parents had someone come in and decorate the spare room for him. It has all his pictures from school with little touches here and there of me and him or my parents and him. His clothes are all in boxes minus what I packed in the little luggage I brought. I grab a pair of khaki pants with a white button-down shirt.
“Don’t get dirty.” I tap his nose with my finger while putting on his socks. “Go get your shoes,” I say, getting up from my knees and going to my room. I hear him somewhere in the house calling for my father.
I walk to my open suitcase, tossing things around to find something to wear. I take out a tube top maxi dress, then toss more stuff around to finally find the brown braided belt and my light blue jean jacket. I take everything with me to the shower and start getting ready. When I put on my strapless bra, I look at all the changes my body’s had over the years.
My body has changed ever since I had Aiden; my hips are rounder and my breasts, although only a C, sag just a touch from breastfeeding. I shimmy myself into the dress, grabbing the belt to tie around my waist. It’s still the same size from before I had him, which is thanks to Pilates and yoga. I pin my blond hair on top of my head, putting on pink lip gloss and a touch of mascara. “Mom.” Aiden knocks on the bathroom door. “Grandpa said we can go outside now.” I open it, seeing that he’s standing there jumping up and down and waving his hands anxiously. “It’s party time.”
“Okay, Cherie,” I use his French nickname, slipping on my brown sandals and putting on my jean jacket, then rolling up the cuffs. “Are you ready to go?” I ask him, and he just grabs my hand, pulling me toward the door. We walk to the backyard, and I stand on the porch in shock. I find my father off to the side talking to one of the guys. “Dad,” I call him, and he looks over at us and waves. “Don’t you think it’s a touch overboard?”
“It’s nothing.” He flips his hand. “Aiden, let’s go take a ride on the roller coaster,” he says, more excited than Aiden.
“Holy shit.” I hear from behind me as I see my mother coming outside wearing a yellow sundress and white hat. “It looks like a carnival.”
“It looks like the carnival vomited all over your backyard.” I laugh, and she walks down the steps, going to my father as he sits in the roller coaster at the front with Aiden next to him. They both put their hands up while it goes up and down.
For two hours, Aiden runs around, going from one ride to the next as people start to slowly arrive. Almost everyone comes up to me to welcome me home. I keep my eyes on Aiden and finally catch his attention, telling him to come eat. He runs over to me with his arms waving in the air and a smile plastered on his face. “Are you having so much fun?” I ask him, brushing his hair away from his eyes.
“The bestest time, Maman,” he says, and we walk over to where the food is. He chooses to eat a corn dog, and I sit down with him at one of the white tables. He dips it in ketchup, licking the ketchup off, and then dipping it again only this time biting it. “I want to go and ride the train with Grandpa.” He tries to lick the ketchup from his face. I take Wet Ones and wipe his face, then get up and look around for my dad when my blue eyes meet the brown that I look into every day. He stares at me, and then he looks down at Aiden, who is holding my hand, and he takes a step back. I see his lips move, saying my name. The ground is suddenly spinning around me, or maybe it’s my head that is spinning. I don’t know what is happening. One minute, I’m standing here looking into eyes I thought I would never see again, and the next, I’m being dragged to them by my son.