Here I Am, There You Are

On my kitchen counter was one of the tastiest looking cakes. It was covered in a light mint coloured frosting and colourful confetti was sprinkled all over the top and trickling down the sides. As much as I had wished I had made this cake myself, I had been a busy mother and bought it at a nice bakery instead. What I could add, however, was the big pink ‘1’ that I could add as a topper.

It was Archie’s first birthday already. While the first few months seemed to drag on forever, it started to go by so quickly so soon after. It felt like just a few months ago that I was in premature labour, feeling like I was about to rip in half. Technically, it was a few months ago, twelve to be exact.

People were chattering away in our garden as I slowly walked out myself, the cake balancing on the palms of my hands while I tried my best to not extinguish the flame on the candle. It wasn’t the height of summer, but it was still a pleasant temperature out in L.A.. My family was here, including Anna, her husband, and their daughter Emily. And even Jack’s parents had managed to fly out to be here.

“Cake!” Ethan hollered in excitement as he was the first to notice me.

Everybody started gathering around the large table we had set up and Jack quickly got Archie set up in his high chair. I wasn’t exactly sure who started it, but I believed it was my mom who started singing happy birthday. However, when I actually reached the table, I had no idea where to put the cake. I would have loved to put it on the table stuck to Archie’s high chair, but that didn’t seem like a very smart idea. Instead, I just put it on the actual large table, as close as possible to Archie to keep the thought there.

So, when the song ended, I was actually the one to blow out the candle.

“Awe, why didn’t you let Archie blow it out!” Ethan pouted.

I gave him a raised eyebrow. “He’s one, he doesn’t know the concept of blowing out candles. And if I put the cake any closer to him, he would have destroyed it. We also want to enjoy the cake.”

He stared back at me as I grabbed the big knife that was already ready on the table. “I mean… that makes sense.”

Of course, the first slice went straight to Archie to make up for being too young to blow out candles. As I had predicted, the plastic plate immediately became a war zone. It already started when he noticed Jack was bringing him a plate of food. He started kicking excitedly and bouncing in his seat. As soon as that plate hit his plastic tray, he grabbed right for the cake, taking a fistful. When he got his first taste, you could just see the delight in his face, making everybody laugh.

I cut the rest of the slices and handed them out so everybody else could enjoy the flavour as much as Archie was. It was just a simple vanilla cake with buttercream frosting. But, damn, it was good.

“Despite how sticky he must be,” Jack suddenly whispered from behind me as I was taking bites of my own slice and keeping an eye on Archie, “this is so adorable and I’m so glad I’ve got some good pictures.”

I chuckled. Both his arms, his face, and his outfits were covered in frosting and small bits of cake. “I will not be the one giving him a bath tonight.”

Jack sucked in a sharp breath and shook his head. “I think it’s a two man job.”

“You might be right. I don’t want to be finding frosting on him in a week’s time.”

And then Jack sighed a little. “He’s already one. It’s going by too fast.”

“I was literally thinking the same when I was getting the cake ready,” I agreed, eating my last bite and putting down my plate. “But we’ve still got a lot to come. There’s still so much to learn about him and to teach him.”

“I know… I just don’t want these moments to end.”

“They won’t,” I comforted and lightly stroked Jack’s cheek, “we’re still here for a long time.”

I leaned in for a quick kiss before sneakily picking up a bit of frosting on my plate and wiping it onto Jack’s nose. “There, now you’re matching with your son.”

Jack stuck his tongue out at me and I licked the residue from my finger, giving him a wink.

Notes