love again 2 [z.m au]

∞ e l e v e n ∞

The picture in the media section is who I picture Ella as. What a pretty girl! :) be sure to read the A/N at the end.

Happy reading!

Evelyn

"Ella is going to be so excited," I gushed, happily.

"I can't wait to see the look on her face," Zayn said and I nodded in agreement. I couldn't stop smiling.

"She has absolutely no clue about us being here?" My mom asked while whisking eggs in a bowl for breakfast.

My parents flew in from Seattle just in time for Ella's sixth birthday and we're so excited for Ella to wake up to see them.

I shook my head. "Nope. She thinks she's going to school today but we called in for her."

"Skipping school at six years old?" mom joked as she continued to whisk. "Just kidding, I let you and Noah ditch school on your birthday every year."

My bread popped out of the toaster and I quickly pulled it out and dropped it on a plate to avoid burning my fingers. "Does that make us bad parents?" I asked, spreading blackberry jam all over my toast.

The both of us paused what we were doing and looked at each other before we erupted into a fit of giggles.

"Nah," we said, simultaneously.

"You know," my mom began, setting the egg mixture aside. "For your sixth birthday, your father and the I were going to take you to Disneyland but you woke up with a stomach flu, so we had to cancel."

"What! No way," I gaped, frowning. "Why didn't I know this?"

"If we were to tell you before, you'd throw a tantrum."

I chuckled, finishing the last of my toast. "So you decided to tell me now that I'm 24?"

Mom let out a hearty laugh and poured the egg mixture in a pan. "It just came to me."

I checked the time on phone and realized that Ella would be waking up soon. Breakfast was prepared and the table was set up for my birthday girl.

I made my way to Ella's bedroom and quietly opened the door to see if she was awake. She was sitting on her bed petting Koda and grinned when she saw me.

"It's my birthday!" she slid off her bed and jumped into my arms. "Mommy, I'm six!"

I kissed her cheek and smiled. "That's right, princess. Happy birthday! Now let's get you all cleaned up before we head down for breakfast, okay?"

"Okay." She nodded.

I watched as Ella brushed her teeth and flossed and it made me miss working at the dental practice. After having Ashton, I was on maternity leave but ended up being a stay at home mom and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Plus, Zayn wanted me to be with Ella and Ashton at all times when he couldn't. He wanted to be the daddy that works to support his family and we didn't want to drop them off at a daycare or hire a nanny. What if an important milestone happens while we're at work? We wouldn't have been able to witness it firsthand.

"I had a dream grandma, grandpa and uncle Noah came for my birthday," Ella told me. You could hear the sadness in her voice.

"Aw, baby." I caressed her cheek. "Just wait till we're downstairs. There's a surprise for you."

Her eyes lit up with joy. "Surprise! I love surprises."