On Thin Ice

21

My father was one of those unfortunate people whose birthday fell around a holiday. Unfortunately for him, Thanksgiving fell on his birthday this year, so we were going to have a double celebration to combine the two. He didn't seem to mind it all that much. He was never really a fan of his birthday anyway. I assumed it was something that happened the older you got.

Since we weren't due to start our festivities until three, I stayed up in my room to catch some extra hours of sleep. I was going to be out with the team tonight and I knew I would be tired.

"Elijah, come down soon sweetie," Mindy called, lightly tapping on my bedroom door. "Your grandparents are here."

I sighed and called out to let her know I heard her. Rolling out of bed, I threw on a dark brown sweater along with some dark jeans before heading to the bathroom to fix my hair and brush my teeth.

As soon as I made it downstairs, I was bombarded by my grandmother. She threw her arms around me in a hug and then placed her hands on my face as she pulled away.

"Elijah, darling, what is this bruise?" she questioned me in a concerned tone. My bruise was fading, but not enough for a caring grandmother to miss.

"Hockey," I lied with a light smile. "You know how it is."

Gram shook her head. "That sport is too rough. I could barely watch it when your father played."

"Leave him be. He's tough. He can handle it," my grandfather interjected as he made his way over to us. Gram stepped away from me and sent her husband an annoyed look but didn't argue with him.

Grandpa threw an arm around me briefly in a greeting.

"Oh! Elijah, I almost forgot," Gram suddenly said, digging through her purse and pulling out an envelope. "We will be in Florida for your birthday, so I wanted to give you your card now."

I took the envelope and sent her a playful smile. "You could just take me to Florida for my birthday.

Gram and Grandpa both chuckled.

"Some other time, darling. I promise," Gram assured me with a loving smile.

Josh's loud steps down the stairs caught the attention of my grandparents. He was dressed similarly to me, with a dark sweater and jeans.

"Joshua!" Gram greeted.

Instead of staying in on their greetings with Josh, I left the room to go find my father. I found him in the kitchen with Mindy and Ava, slaving over the stove for dinner.

"Shouldn't you not be doing any work on your birthday?" I asked, causing him to turn around with a bowl of squash in his hands.

A playful smile pulled on his lips. "Good morning— oh I mean afternoon. Glad you could join us, sleepy head."

"Figured I'd schedule you in on my busy day," I teased, leaning back against the counter.

Dad set the bowl down and nodded toward the card in my hand.

"You're getting gifts on my birthday?" he questioned me with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, sorry you're going to have to share your birthday with me," I jokingly told him.

"There isn't anyone I'd rather share it with," Dad replied in a loving tone, wrapping an arm around me and kissing my forehead.