Can't you feel my heart beating? (Gabenath)

Epilogue

Nathalie takes the cake out of the oven and places it on top of the stove to allow it to cool down.

"Is it ready, mama?" Alexander asks with excitement.

"Yes, it's ready, baby but we must wait for it to cool down first then we can begin decorating it."

"Aww, but I want to decorate it now." He whines with his childlike voice.

"I know you do," she says with a soft voice, "but remember what we said about being patient?"
Nathalie goes down, lifting her child off the ground and sitting him down on the kitchen island.

"Will you be patient, my sweet boy?" She asks, running her hands through his soft hair.

"Yes, mama..." he finally responds, but not before letting a small pout adorn his lips.

"Thank you, Alexander." Nathalie leans down to press a kiss to her son's forehead.

"How about we start preparing the frosting for the cake?" She asks.

"Yes!" Alexander squeals with excitement again.

"Shh, remember we don't want to wake daddy up."
Nathalie whispers, bringing her index finger to her lips.

Alexander mimics the gesture, "Shh."

———

Nathalie is always impressed by how fast of a learner her boy is. She watches him mix the frosting in the bowl as he's followed all the instructions she's given him. He's only going to be three years old, yet she finds him to be so intelligent.

"All done." He says, deciding that he's done mixing the frosting.

Nathalie smiles, "Would you like to lick the frosting off the spoon before we put it in the sink?"

"Yes." The boy responds, a look of delight in his blue eyes.

———

When the cake finally cools down, Nathalie and Alexander begin to decorate it.

Alexander spreads the frosting all over the cake and then Nathalie uses the piping bag to carefully write the desired text.

When she's done, she shows it to Alexander.

"Do you know what that says?" She asks him.

The boy shakes his head. Nathalie smiles, "It says, 'Happy Birthday!' "

"Oh, yeah, it's because it's daddy's birthday."

"Yes, it's daddy's birthday today. Are you ready to surprise him now?" She asks.

Alexander nods with a huge smile painting his lips.

———

When they enter the bedroom, Gabriel is already awake and seated up on the bed.

Alexander runs to him, quickly climbing up on him.

"Happy birthday, daddy!" His childlike voice sounds.

"Thank you, my boy." Gabriel instinctively wraps his arms around him.

Nathalie gets close to him, holding the small cake in her hands as she brings it towards him.

"Happy Birthday, Gabriel."

"Thank you, my love." He says, smiling as he takes a look at the cake in front of him.

"Do you want to make a wish?" She asks, not waiting for a response but instead taking a lighter out of her pocket and quickly touching the tip of the candle with the flame."