In Case You Didn't Know

Chapter 18 | Part 1

I shift my weight from foot to foot, chewing my bottom lip anxiously. My hand lingers around the doorbell, but I drop it before I can bring myself to press the button. A few distant conversations can be heard from inside the house, the smell of smoky sweet grilled meat wafting through the air. 

Bad idea, this was a bad, bad idea. 

Rubbing my palms against my skort, I call at the door. My anxiety gets the best of me and I'm 0.2 seconds away from walking away when the door is swung open.

"Hi." A dark-haired woman stands in the doorway, a friendly smile on her lips as she holds a baby that I recognize as Mika against her chest. "You should be Roger's wife."

"Hi." she greets me, a quizzical eyebrow raised surely wondering how I know her.

"I met Mika the other day. I'm Alexia."

"Oh," so she knows about me, too. Great. "Come on in." She steps aside to make room for me to enter, and I clutch my hand tightly around the birthday present I got for Nathaniel. "I'm Amelia, by the way." 

She guides me through a cobblestone path that surrounds the house, opening into a considerably big backyard.

A crowd of around fifteen people is spread in different parts of the garden. The barbecue has been set on the far left corner, with a portable bar near it. In the center of the backyard, a larger table is set up with what I presume are snacks and desserts. Two more tables with several chairs around them are placed on the opposite side.

"Nathan." Amelia calls him before going inside the house. 

Nathaniel turns around and abandons his place next to the grill when he sees me. I feel my heart threatening to stomp out of my chest and the urge to walk away once again, but I force myself to meet his smile.

"You came!"

"Happy birthday, friend." I hand him the small box wrapped in bright silver paper.

"You didn't have to get me anything."

"I wanted to." He looks at the object now nestled in his hands, childish excitement beaming from him. "You can't open it now, though." I truly, sincerely hope that he likes what I got for him. I think he will. But in case he doesn't, I'd rather him not opening it until I'm gone.

"Bugger." He exclaims, clicking his tongue. "Well, isn't there a hug for the birthday boy?" That look on his eyes...boy do I know —and miss— that look. Stepping on my tiptoes, I throw my arms around his torso, and not his neck like I'd otherwise have done, and plant a demurred kiss on his cheek. 

I avoid looking him in the eyes when I step back, and before neither of us can say anything else, a tiny human crashes against my bare legs. I look down to be met by a pair of blue eyes, rosy cheeks and blonde curls.

"Well, who do we have here?" I crouch down to her level, and the little one giggles with two of her fingers in her mouth.

"This is Ellie, my niece." I try to mask my surprise, but I can avoid the startled gasp that leaves my mouth.

"Can everyone stop having babies?" Truthfully, if any other of my friends or colleagues gets pregnant, I'm going to have to socially detach. Ellie reaches towards my hair, tangling her dribble-soaked fingers in my short locks.

"El, no." Nathaniel admonishes her immediately, disentangling her hands from my hair as I pick her up, propping her on my hip.

"Nathaniel she's beautiful." She truly is. I have never had a thing for babies or toddlers, but a look at Ellie's flowery white dress, and the sound of her giggles as Nathaniel tickles her, makes my heart melt. "Look at those pretty bright blue eyes." She takes her hands to my cheeks this time, thick eyelashes batting as she seems to be inspecting me up-close.