198. Child's Play

Bridgeport, present day...

Leigh and Eloise rarely fought. And the few times that they did in the past they always managed to sort out their arguments before they escalated into something big. Even when Eloise finally told Leigh her secret about being a werewolf, Leigh got over it in a few days.

But during the planning of the joint birthday party for their kids they fought like cat and dog. 

Since they were splitting the cost of the party equally, both wanted to have their own way and neither wanted to compromise nor to accommodate the other. 

Their squabbling about every little thing, from the venue right down to the entertainment, got so bad that Devon and Krisis suggested they should cancel.

But the best friends stubbornly refused. Hosting a joint party for their children was something they'd looked forward to since they were little girls so canceling was not an option, but compromising was. So Leigh got the venue, which so happened to be her home. And Eloise got the clown she wanted. Leigh hated clowns; actually she was afraid of them.

Once they agreed on the major causes for the deadlock, everything else fell into place.

Leigh took charge of the menu, party packs and birthday cakes and Eloise oversaw the deco and entertainment.

In addition to the clown, she also hired a magician.

The night before the party Eloise, Blake and Devon slept at the Frosts’ home.  Devon and Krisis camped out with the boys, and told ghost stories…

While Leigh and Eloise had a tea party with the girls and their dolls. 

It was a beautiful, relaxed evening, but the worry wart that Leigh was kept thinking something was bound to go wrong at the party. Luckily for her it didn't.

The party was perfect, it helped that the balmy weather they’d had throughout the week held out.

The first part of the morning was spent playing various games with the children; they especially enjoyed the treasure hunt around the garden.

But it was the adults who seemed to be having the most fun as they ran around the yard, drinking from the chocolate fountain and playing with the water sprinkler.

When Crissy Lee, the acrobat moonlighting as a clown for this very occasion, took the stage, everything came to a standstill.

Her twenty minute act was, without a doubt, the highlight of the party.

It was not only fun and creative, but interactive as well, she involved Lily and Blake in her performance as much as the routine would allow.

Everyone, especially Michaela, was enthralled with her performance.

The kiddies loved the masks she painted on their faces and the balloon doggies she made for them.

Leigh grudgingly agreed with Eloise that the clown was indeed the hit she had promised.

After a lunch of mini hot dogs and freshly squeezed orange juice, everyone gathered around the table to sing for the birthday girl and boy.

Lily and Blake shared a brief look, encompassing all their fears and excitement about the future, before they closed their eyes and blew out their candles at the same time.

They were both pleased to see they hadn’t changed at all on the outside when they opened their eyes again, Blake was still her “Blakey” and she was still his “Lily Bear”.

“You’re still short,” Blake smiled at his best friend as he ruffled her hair playfully.

“And you look the same,” Lily’s reply made everyone around them laugh.

“What did you wish for?” Blake then asked.

“I’m not supposed to tell or it won’t come true,” Lily replied as she laced their hands and they scampered off to play with their friends.

If she had answered his question though, they would have known they’d both wished for the same thing: to stay best friends forever.

With the formalities out of the way, J.D and Thornton joined Krimsyn and Katie in the pool and they played a game of Marco Polo.

Michaela peeled Cameron away from the bar and they crawled up to the tree house where they spent the rest of the evening making up for lost time.

College was killing her; she’d barely had time to see him during the week.

Krisis and Leigh spent some time with their triplets.

 …while Eloise and Devon cozied up at the chocolate fountain, both imagining all the things they could do to the other with melted chocolate...

Eloise had just put away the left over birthday cake in the fridge when Leigh came to find her.

“Show me again!” Leigh pleaded. The whole day she’d been heckling Eloise to transform for her. She thought it was the coolest thing she’d seen in…forever! And she never tired of asking her friend to do it again and again.

Eloise though did get tired. Transforming drained a lot of her energy and she’d tried explaining this to Leigh so many times, but her words seemed to fall on deaf ears.

“When I finally become a vampire I’ll show you how fast I can run,” Leigh tried again and this time Eloise melted, it was her child-like statement that got her.

“Okay, fine,” Eloise started down the hall and Leigh followed her to the guestroom. Before Eloise could do anything though, an excited Devon bustled in. “It’s time for Reese, The Magician!” He announced.

Saved by the magician. Eloise thought as she jumped for him and kissed him.

Reese the magician was as spellbinding as his website said he was.

He was easy on the eyes too.

All the women could see why his diva of a wife, Reagan, had hung on to him the whole day like a man purse.

Reagan herself was gorgeous, and if she wasn’t self-absorbed and so damn in love with herself, she would have been likable.

Their twin girls, Claire and Chloe, were adorable though and much to Lily’s dismay, Blake seemed taken with them. He was going out of his way to be extra nice to the twins. And Lily felt a little left out.

In fact she felt so left out she stalked off before the magician’s act was over. Krisis found her in her room, playing with her dollhouse on the floor.

He stood just inside the door and watched her play for some time. She didn’t know it, but she was a miniature of Jacqueline, her mother.

He grew misty eyed when he thought of the good doctor. They never saw eye to eye on a lot of things, but he knew that if Jacqueline was still alive they’d both agree on one thing at least: their daughter was a beautiful spirited child.

“Hi Daddy,” Lily turned her attention from the dollhouse long enough to smile at him.

“Hey Princess, who are we hiding from?” He asked as he sat beside her.

His eldest just shrugged her tiny shoulders and carried on playing with her doll.

From the way her lower lip wobbled, Krisis could tell she was close to tears, so he gently reached for her and held her. “Who upset you?”

“It’s Blake, Daddy!” Lily bawled on his shoulder. “He doesn’t want to be my friend anymore. All he wants to do is play with those twins!”

“Ah,” Krisis exclaimed. Suddenly he wasn’t looking forward to his future; he foresaw a lot of such moments now that Lily was older.

“Why couldn’t she be a boy?” He wondered as he brushed her hair. He understood Kristian and Blake. They were fun and uncomplicated. Plus they didn’t cry at the drop of the hat.

“I want him to be my friend again,” Lily carried on sniffling. And Krisis had no idea what to do with her. Or what to say to her. So he mentally reached out to Leigh and asked her to come over.

His wife was in the room in a matter of seconds.

Leigh explained to Lily that it was okay for people to have more than one friend, and just because Blake had new friends, it didn’t mean he loved her any less; after all they were family and nothing would ever change that, not even the magician’s twins.

By the time Krisis left them alone, Lily was smiling and laughing again and she was almost ready to give the twins a chance.

Leigh thought that she should, especially since they’d be going to the same school, she was bound to bump into them in the playground.

“Okay, I’ll go right now and be friends with them,” Lily announced. She was almost at the door when she turned back to give Leigh a hug.

“Thanks mom, I love you,” she cried before she vanished out of the door.

Her words brought tears to Leigh’s eyes. She made a mental note to get the ball rolling on legally adopting her. They’d talked about it with Krisis and he was thrilled with her decision, but with the tour and her accident, they never got around to it.

“Soon,” Leigh promised herself.

Later, as the party began to wind down, Lily and Blake were finally allowed to open their gifts.

A large pool of their birthday presents was books. Since they had more than enough toys and they were still too young to appreciate fancy gadgets, Leigh and Eloise had thought it would be great to start a library collection for them, and they’d included their wish list with the party invites.

Thornton though, had not gotten the birthday memo. His gift was a ‘his and hers’ bike set.

The birthday honorees were beyond thrilled and they immediately wanted to test drive them.

After much pleading, Eloise and Leigh relented, and they set off with Krisis and their uncles in tow…

_________

Credits:

Crissy Lee, is Karima's level 8 acrobat. She was kind enough to loan her to me, I just changed her outfit and makeup. Thank you Aussie! I'll put more pics of her on FB.

And a special thanks to Fae for Lily and Blake's bike, hair ruffling and hand holding poses. You do spoil me so!

Some picspam on Facebook...

Father's and Sons....and....Mother's and Daughters.