Stumbling Through It {C.H}

Chapter 21

"Daniel, why don't you go play while Ellie and I unpack the groceries." Calum instructed his son, who nodded and scampered off to his playroom.

"So guess what happened at the store when you left us in the bakery isle." I said, putting a box of cheez-its in the pantry.

"What?" Calum closed the freezer after putting in a tub of ice cream.

"A woman thought Daniel was my son." I giggled.

"Really? What did you say?"

"Well she walked away before I could correct her."

"Oh, sorry if that was awkward for you or anything." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"No, not at all. I would love to have a son as great as Daniel. It was an honor to look like his mother." I laughed.

Calum's lips spread into a smile, as finished putting away the last bag of food. We walked to the living room, where we could sit and talk, and watch Daniel at the same time.

"I'm gonna go get the mail, I will be right back." Calum pointed to the front door. I nodded and continued into the living room, plopping myself down on the couch. I could see Daniel through the door way to his toy room. He pushed a toy car around and jumped it off a ramp. He looked so content, lost in his own imagination. Watching him made me miss being a kid, where I could just play all day, and didn't have to worry about money, or jobs, or whatever.

Calum returned, a small stack of envelopes in his hand. He took a seat next to me on the couch and began sorting through the mail. He tossed the bills off to the side, landing on the table. He ripped two ads in half, tossing them aside too. He opened the last envelope left in his hand. He pulled out a piece of heavy, cream paper, the size of a postcard.

"What's that?" I asked, glancing to the gold embellished card.

"It's an invitation to Michael's wedding." Calum said, showing me the card. On it was a picture of Michael and Livi in front of what looked like a busy Tokyo street. She was nestled into the crook of his neck, her eyes shut, her mouth open in a frozen laugh. His eyes focused down on her with a look of admiration.

"That's so cute." I cooed.

"Yeah. They weren't gonna have the wedding this soon, but since Livi is pregnant, they had to push it forward." He told me. I nodded understandingly. He read the details of the invitation, before flipping it over to see if there was anything on the backside, "Hey, look at this." He handed me the invitation.

On the back was a handwritten note, written in neat looping letters. I assumed Livi had written it, it was too neat to be Michael's handwriting.

'Calum,
Feel free to invite your girlfriend, Ellie, we would love to have her :)'

The short note finished with a smiley face, making my smile even wider.

"So do you want to come?" Calum asked, taking the card back.

"Of course! I just love weddings. It was so nice of them to think of me."

Calum mirrored my smile, wrapping his arm around me, pulling he into a hug.

"Ooh! Group hug!" I heard Daniel's excited voice. He ran into the living room to join us. I felt his little arms around us, giving us a little squeeze.

"Hey buddy." Calum placed his on on his lap, ruffling his hair.

I glanced at the time on my phone, "It's almost six, do you want me to make dinner?" I asked.

"You already made breakfast, you don't need to make dinner too." Calum felt bad that I had cooked for them all day.

I brushed my hand through the air, "I don't mind, I like cooking." I got up from the couch, heading to the kitchen. Calum followed me, carrying Daniel with him. He set Daniel down on the counter.

"What do you boys want?" I asked, poking my head in the pantry.

"A dog!" Daniel gasped.

"What? Where?" Calum looked quickly around, his eyes wide.

"No daddy!" Daniel giggled, "That's what I want. For my birthday!"

"I meant what you want for dinner." I laughed.

"Oh." Daniel said, "I want grilled cheese." He decided.

"That alright with you?" I checked with Calum.

"Yeah, sure."

I got to work, pulling out the bread and cheese that we had just bought earlier that day. The sandwiches didn't take long to make, and soon we were all sat down at the kitchen island eating.

Daniel sat back in his seat when he was finished. He smiled happily, kicking his legs over the edge of the chair that was too tall for him.

"I like having Ellie here." He mused.

"Yeah," Calum agreed, taking my hand, "Me too."