"Just a little higher, wait lower, right there! Perfect!"
Carrie squinted her eye, making sure the birthday banner was straight as Madeline and Ivey stood on chairs to hang it.
"Can you hand me another piece of tape please?" Madeline asked, holding her end against the wall.
Carrie pulled another piece off the roll, reaching up to hand it to her daughter. She sat the roll of tape on the coffee table and went to go set up the food table.
"It looks really great out here." Ivey smiled, stepping down and brushing her hands off. "He's going to be so surprised."
"He literally has no idea. He told me he didn't want to do anything for his birthday but have a nice dinner just the three of us. He's going to flip out." Carrie laughed. She spread the table cloth across the table where the food would go.
"I'm so excited. I love surprise parties." Madeline grabbed the other end of the table cloth, stretching it out across the table.
"Me too." Carrie grinned. "You know, the first time you met Mike was at his birthday party. Do you remember that?"
"Not really." Madeline laughed. "Kind of maybe."
"You were almost 6. Mike and I had been dating for about 3 months and I told you he was a friend of mine. You didn't want to go, but Leona was going so naturally you agreed."
"Of course." They said at the same time. The girls were 2 years apart, but they'd been inseparable their entire lives. Leona was like a big sister to Madeline.
"I think I briefly remember that. He was awkward."
"He was extremely nervous." Ivey chuckled. "He knew he needed your approval to be with your mom. You were a tough critic when you were 5."
"Who's party is this again?" The 5 year old asked from the backseat, quietly dancing to the music playing from the radio.
"Mike Fisher. He's a friend of mine. He's good friends with Uncle Mark." Carrie explained.
"Will there be a lot of kids there?"
"No, but Leona will be there. Kaitlyn and Bryan will also be there. I'm not sure who else's kids will be there, but you guys will have fun." Carrie said, pulling into the driveway. There were already cars lining the streets.
Carrie grabbed her purse and held Madeline's hand as they walked around the side of Mike's house to the backyard.
"Hi! There you are!" Ivey approached them with a big smile.
"Is Leona here?" Madeline asked happily.
"She sure is. She and the other kids are over there." Ivey pointed to the yard where a group of kids were playing tag.
"Can I go?" Madeline looked up at Carrie.
"Have fun, be careful." Carrie patted her back before she ran off to her friends.
"Are you nervous for Madeline to meet Mike?" Ivey inquired.
"A little. I just don't know how she's going to feel about another guy. I don't really know the damage that Sam did to her. I think she'll either latch onto him and love him, or she'll be afraid of him. I honestly have no clue which one it'll be though." Carrie shrugged.
"It'll be alright. It might take a little bit, but I think she'll like him. She needs a father figure." Ivey walked with Carrie to get a drink.
She eyed Mike talking to a group of guys over towards the corner, so she headed over.
"Hey boys, mind if I steal the birthday boy for a second?" She smiled, placing her hands on Mike's arms. He was facing away from her.
A smile crept across Mike's face when he heard his girlfriend's voice.
"Hey you." He grinned, turning around.
"Happy Birthday!" She exclaimed.
"I'm glad you're here." He beamed. He awkwardly side hugged her, both of them laughing. She'd reminded him numerous times not to show any affection in case Madeline saw them.
"I'll give you a birthday kiss later." She winked, patting his chest.
"What did I think of him?" Madeline asked, following her mother into the kitchen to get more food.
"You were pretty indifferent. I had planned on letting you get to know him a few times before I told you I was dating him, but you were too smart for your own good. You figured it out pretty quickly." Carrie laughed.
"Mommy?"
"Yes sweetie?" Carrie glanced at her daughter through the rear view mirror as she drove home from the party. She held her red solo cup of sweet tea in one hand, driving with the other.
"Is Mike your boyfriend?"
Carrie almost spit her water out. She hadn't been expecting that question at all. She didn't even know that Madeline knew what a boyfriend was.
"Um." She stuttered. "Well, what would you think of that? If he was?"
Madeline shrugged. "I watched you with him today. You seemed happy."
"But what did you think of him?"
"I liked him. He let me have a cookie and a piece of cake, he said it could be our secret. I liked him a lot." Madeline said. "Is he going to hurt us like Daddy?"
Carrie felt pain in her heart. She took a deep breath, pushing away tears that threatened to fill her eyes. "No sweetie, he won't. He's a good guy. He would never hurt you or me."
"So, he is your boyfriend?"
"Yes." Carrie said. "But only if that's okay with you. If not, tell me. Your happiness is more important to me. I want you to feel comfortable."
"Can he come over for dinner one night?" Madeline asked.
A smile spread across her face.
"I'm sure he'd love that."
