"Don't worry, when you do get grandbabies, it's wonderful," Eloise plops down next to my mum as Josie gets up to take her turn. Next to me, Briella yanks the yellow crayon out of my hand and clumsily places the green one into it before directing my hand over to the uncolored sun. I nod my head and color the sun in green; the grass is already blue, so the sun might as well be green.
"Briella Parlie! Your turn!" Bianca calls over in a sing-song voice. Briella grins widely as I help her stand up in her seat and pass her over the table towards Bianca. She uses one of these slides to push the ball down, and it is maybe the cutest thing I've ever seen in my whole life.
"Having fun?" Rhodes asks me quietly as the others celebrate Josie's strike. He's been checking in with me throughout the day, as if something could make this day bad. I turn my body towards his as I nod my head.
"So much fun," I grin up at him, resting my chin on his forearm as he props his arms up on the table. "Are you?"
"Are you kidding? This is awesome. Your mates are loads of fun, and your mum is lovely. I'm having a great time," he reassures me, his words filling me with comfort. He likes your people; they aren't putting him off. This is good.
"You know how, in the contract, you said that you don't 'do children's birthdays'? Doesn't this count?" I lower my voice as I tease him, not eager for everyone to hear about our prior arrangement. He tilts his head and grins softly.
"You aren't a child, baby, you're 20 now." I roll my eyes and lean into him slightly.
"Does that mean I'm getting too old for you, Whitlock?" I tease, normally mentioning something like that would give me high blood pressure, but today's a good day. I'm in our bubble. He sucks in a small breath and squeezes his lips together.