Perspective

31-Birthday Baby

"Harper! Happy birthday, baby!" I say, hugging the 2 year old.

"Mommy," He says, hugging me back.

"Hey, beautiful," Asher greets me.

I kiss Harper's head and set him back down on the ground before hugging Asher.

"Hey, Ash," I greet him, pulling back to kiss his cheek.

Ever since my birthday, we've been closer than ever. We're almost like a couple, but we haven't had an actual kiss on the lips yet and haven't put a label on the "dates" and things that we do.

"His present is the one with the giraffe print wrapping paper," I tell Asher. "I put it on the table, but I have to go."

Asher pouts making me feel even worse for ditching Harper's birthday party.

"Can't you stay for a little bit?" Ash asks.

I shake my head, apologetically. "I wish I could get out of this dinner thing, but unfortunately, I can't. It means a lot to my mom that I attend."

Asher smiles. "If it affects your mom, then go ahead. No hard feelings at all."

"I'll call you once it's over. Promise," I lean in to kiss his cheek.

"Just 2 more weeks," He says.

"What?"

"Oh nothing."

::: (About an hour later)

Will this woman ever shut up? She's been repeating the same story for the past 30 minutes.

Even when the food came out, she was still talking while eating.

I watch in horror as some of the food in her mouth flies out and falls on Chandler's plate.

My brother's face drops and he pushes his plate aside.

"Hey, Chandler? Do you want to sit by me? The AC is right here so it'll feel cooler," I say, saving him from my mom's new manager.

Chandler scurries over and sits down beside me. The woman doesn't bat an eye and continues talking about how her sister shit her pants on subway. Not exactly something you want to hear while eating at Olive Garden.

"I owe you one," Chandler whispers, holding his fist out for a fistbump under the table.

I knock knuckles with him. "Don't worry about it."

Daniel and Mom exchange annoyed looks, but the woman keeps talking not even noticing that everyone is irritated.

"There was an Asian lady there who looked like an Anime character. All Asians look the same y'know. There's hardly any difference among them," The lady says.

Chandler and I roll our eyes.

Does she not realize that we're all deadass Asian.

"I think Asian men are so sexy. Sure they have small penises, but they can get enlargement pills," The woman continues. "I think the best penis I've ever seen was a black man's. We had sex for hours! I was sore for days!"

Daniel and Mom both face palm while Chandler and I stifle laughs.

"Excuse me," Daniel gets the attention of a waiter. "Can we have the bill?"

"Prunella, it's been lovely joining you for lunch," My mom starts, "but we have to get going. I'll see you tomorrow morning?"

Daniel pays even though Prunella asks him not to.

"It's been great, Prunella," Daniel politely says, standing up.

Chandler and I stand up too.

"Bye," Prunella waves as the 4 of us leave.

As soon as we get inside our car, we break down laughing.

"I'm so sorry, guys," Mom apologizes through laughter. "Sorry, baby. I know your penis isn't small," Mom says to Daniel.

"MOM! EW!" Chandler and I shriek in disgust.

Mom looks back at us and winks before kissing Daniel.

Chandler and I make gagging noises.

"Whenever they get boyfriends or girlfriends, we gotta do the same thing," Daniel tells Mom with a laugh.

Mom reaches her arm back and pats my knee. "Get ready for lots of teasing. Especially on prom night."

Ew. I forgot about prom. Who would I even go with?

:::

"How was the dinner?" Asher asks once I call him. 

"It was...interesting," I reply with a chuckle before briefly explaining. 

Once I'm done, Asher lets out a loud laugh that warms my insides. 

"How was the party?" I ask, wrapping myself up in my blanket. 

"It was good. Harper was so happy and he had fun."

"Did you?"

"Obviously I was happy, my baby turned 2. There's not really much fun I could have with a bunch of adults and their tiny children."

"You're an adult too," I remind him. 

"You know what I mean."

"Yup."

"So the weather's supposed to be really nice this weekend. We're thinking of going to the lake."

"We?"

"Dylan, Carter, Aspen, Jess. You're free right?"

"Yeah."

"Great!" Asher says before getting interrupted by Harper. 

"DADA!" The 2 year old calls. 

"Just a sec, baby!" Asher calls back. "Hey, I'll call you later?"

"Sure."

"Bye, Ryder."

"Bye, Ash."

I end the call and lay back staring at the ceiling with a warm feeling in my chest. 

•••

I love getting Bs and Cs on Finals (:

Thanks for reading :)

~M