let's light up the sky ☆

Chapter 27

Los Angeles, California

September, 2009

Having Sofia's birthday and their wedding anniversary less than two weeks apart was convenient for Giannis's gift shopping.

It's not like he has any complaints, anyhow. He believes Sofia deserves only the best that his money can buy. The couple turned their honeymoon week into their first family vacation at Disneyland. They spent their first wedding anniversary on a beach in Crete, this time without Armen. Their second anniversary resulted in their daughter's birth seven months later. Every year seemed to get better than the last.

Their fifth anniversary was coming, and Giannis had no idea how he was going to outdo the previous years. What could be better than a European vacation or another baby to adore? One was too late to plan and another was out of the question – you decide which one was which. One day before Sofia's 34th birthday, Giannis was down to the wire and starting to feel a little desperate.

For now, Sofia was out enjoying a lunch date with friends while Giannis took the kids out for a day on the town. Armen was full of ice cream and excitement over the promise of a trip to an arcade. He ran ahead of his dad and sister on the sidewalk of 6th street in downtown Los Angeles. He'd just eaten the best cheeseburger he's ever had. It was a pleasant Saturday to take a break from his recently busy school and baseball schedule.

Giannis followed shortly behind with Anoush resting on his hip. The toddler was babbling about every new sight and sound she was taking in. Her little legs were perfectly capable of carrying her down the street and she wanted to use them. Giannis didn't want her to fall and scrape her knees in the new dress that her Aunt Anahit gave her on her recent visit.

"Armen, be careful," Giannis called out. It was easier to do that than to try to stifle the boy's energy. In fact, letting him take any chance to run around would make it easier for him to fall asleep later tonight. Besides, Giannis was too busy with his own thoughts of what he would do to make Sofia's birthday special.

Speaking of specials, one came to his rescue in the form of a bus stop billboard.

Come to Spa Palace, where everyone feels like royalty

Giannis doubled back to get a good look at the services listed on the ad. He'd never visited a spa on his own – and no, that sauna visit with the guys while they were touring in Finland doesn't count. He knew that Sofia hadn't had time lately to spoil herself either. Lately, she was busy writing her Master's thesis and preparing query letters for her debut novel. On other days, she was in bed nursing migraines after too much screen time and too many hours lost deep in thought. Giannis has done everything possible to take care of her and ease some of her workload. Until now he'd felt helpless in finding her the perfect way to unwind and reconnect with herself.

"Hey, Armen?" he called out again, waving the boy over to him. "Let's take a little detour before we go to the arcade, okay?"

"What's a detour?"

For a moment, Giannis forgot that his 9-year-old had never actually heard that word before. He thought he'd spent enough time in the car with him on the I-5. On his free side, he reached down and grabbed Armen's hand, meeting him at his level. "We're taking a special trip for your mom before we go play some games. But it'll only be for a few minutes, okay?"

"Okay!"

"Now, I have another question for you. Do you think your mom would like a new scarf or a necklace?"

Giannis talked through his ideas for Sofia's present with Armen all the way to his car. On Armen's suggestion, their little detour included a scavenger hunt in the downtown shopping district for the perfect silk scarf. The trip took a lot longer than they were expecting, but Armen forgot all about their original arcade plans. He was having fun finding something to make his mom happy for her birthday.