My smile stretches so wide the corners of my mouth touch my earlobes. If ever there was a reason to let myself hope for something, that statement was it.
“What are you doing tomorrow night? Maybe I can slip out of practice a little early and we have dinner?”
“Yeah! That will be—” I grimace, suddenly remembering the plans I already have. “Ah, shoot. I can’t. I forgot I have my nephew’s birthday party tomorrow night. He’s turning six. I got him a new harmonica just to really drive Lily over the edge.”
“You’re going to a family thing tomorrow night?” His voice is doing that thing where it’s filled with longing mixed with disappointment. Not because he’s disappointed I’m going, but because he loves my family and wants to go too.
“Yeah…I know you’re busy though.”
“What time?”
I don’t know why he could possibly be asking me this. “It starts at six, I think. They’re having dinner and an outdoor movie. My parents will be coming in for it too!”
I’m really looking forward to it. I love my family, and since my parents retired, I haven’t seen much of them. They’re RVers now and spend most of the year traveling around the US. When we all get together, things get rowdy in the best of ways. My mom is also super into TikTok dances and is always begging me and Lily to do one with her. I’m not sure I’ll ever recover from seeing her dance to Cardi B though. Watching my dad dance to it was even worse.
But it’s good. After seeing them work so hard for most of their life, the day they were able to retire felt like a burst of sunlight to all of our souls. I miss them, and I can’t wait to hug their necks tomorrow.
“I’ll be there,” Nathan says, followed by the sound of a click. Must have turned off his light.
Listen, there’s nothing more I want in this world than for Nathan to come with me to a family event. My parents adore him and it’s always fun to see my mom try to mother him like she does the rest of us even though he’s eight miles taller than her, but I hear the exhaustion in his voice. In fact, I’ve heard it for the last month.
“Nathan, if you have the night off tomorrow, you should take that time at home to rest. Watch that documentary you’ve been wanting to see. Drink some hot tea in a bubble bath!”
He’s quiet for a second.
“Do you take bubble baths?” he asks, his tone changing ever so slightly.
“I do when I’m at my sister’s house. I only have a walk-in shower here.”
He makes a thinking sou
nd. “I have a bathtub here. A big one.”
I swallow. “I know…I’ve seen it.”
“You can use it any time you want.”
I laugh, feeling slightly nervous and zingy all of a sudden. “Okkaayyy, but we’re not talking about me. We’re talking about you and how you should use tomorrow night to rest. I think you’d love a bubble bath!” If Chandler Bing loves them, anyone will.
“I think the only way you could get me in a bubble bath is if…” His words trail off, and I’m left to fill in the blanks all by myself. My heart thumps again: Hope. Hope. Hope. “Never mind.” He clears his throat. “I’m good though. I have plenty of energy,” he says, sounding like a dehydrated man having to be carried across the finish line of a triathlon. “Let me come with you. Please.”
I can never say no to his pleases. They are made of tiny little strings that wrap around my heart and squeeze.
“Fiiiine, you can come with me. But fair warning, there’s going to be a lot of chaos. Screaming, dancing, cake flying everywhere, and that’s all just coming from me.”
He chuckles, and an image of his dimples pops into my mind. I remember the way he looked lying in his bed before I woke him up the other morning. In my mind, I go to him there in his room like I have a hundred times before, except now, I have a perfect image to accompany me. I tiptoe in quietly and gently lift the covers back. I slide in and it’s like a sauna in there because Nathan always runs at a thousand degrees. He feels me move beside him and hums a sleepy sound before wrapping his big arm around me and pulling me in tight. His breath tickles my hair and his skin is hot all around me.
“I’ve been warned,” Nathan says, puncturing my fantasy.
“Good night, Nathan.”
“Night, Bree.”
Nathan was supposed to pick me up after practice, and we were going to go together to the birthday party. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to slip out early like he hoped and texted me this afternoon saying I should go on ahead without him and he would catch up as soon as he could. The thing is, Lily’s house is not just down the street. It’s a two-hour drive, and my nephew’s sixth birthday party is a completely ridiculous reason for Nathan to drive two hours out of the way after a long day of practice. I tell him this over text with lots and lots of exclamation marks, but he just responds the same way he did last night: I’ll be there.
I make it to Lily’s house about half an hour before the party. Good thing too because my entrance is so epic it would show everyone else up and make them feel terrible for their mediocre existence in life. I am The Fun Aunt. Aka, I don’t have any kids yet and therefore still enjoy running wild around the house, screaming and flailing my arms like a monster on the hunt for little boys while my sister hides in the bathroom with the glass of wine I’ve poured her.
I throw open the front door and hold my hands up in the air, showing off my bling. “Holla! Aunt Bree is in the house!” I’m decked out with Ring Pops on every finger. Three candy necklaces adorn my neck, and a superhero cape is draped over my shoulders. Gift bags full of Legos, water guns, and bubble gum (because what kid doesn’t like bubble gum) are cutting off the circulation of my forearms.