Where Promises Must Glide

23 - Theo

 
Her words still play in my head. How can I trust you?

I didn't even know how to answer her, I wanted to tell her how madly obsessed I was with her. How whenever I smelled strawberries it reminded me of the scent of her hair. That Id go to great lengths to make sure she and Ophelia were happy.

I realized that everything from my past fucked me up. My father never taught me how to communicate, hell he never even displayed a normal relationship with my mother. I don't want to make him a scapegoat for my problems, but I wish—just a tiny bit—that I could be normal enough for Juliette.

She didn't have practice today, only press interviews. She was running around all morning trying to get ready, whilst also planning Ophelia's birthday party. The soon to be four year old was clueless of how extensive party planning was. I didn't even know.

Normal birthday parties weren't common on the military bases I grew up in. Sometimes one of the moms would make a cake for the kids, but it'd be boxed cake mix and the extra sugary icing that made your teeth rot if you ate to much. It wasn't until I got older and I heard stories from my college buddies about their birthdays, that realized how unnatural my birthdays were.

Nonetheless, this lack of tradition didn't stop me from planning a John Wick themed party. Yes, Ophelia wanted her birthday theme to be John Wick. Am still trying to comprehend how such a cute little kid would watched some pretty fucked up movies.

"Are you sure you don't want princesses? Or maybe superhero's?" I ask as we walk through Party City trying to find the stuff she needs. Obviously this place is not going to have anything for the theme. Juliette even sent me her Pinterest board to get some inspiration.

As I look at my phone, I'm noticing a lot of dark purples and black. So I grabbed a couple of streamers in those colors, along with fake blood from whatever was put out for the early halloween displays. To make it normal—in the words of Jules—and not have the other parents call CPS on her, she made it glow in the dark themed.

So I grabbed a couple of party favors such as necklaces, glasses, straws, and squishy toys—which all glowed in the dark. Ophelia was in toddler heaven in the candy isle while I shopped around with a cart full of insane things.

"Philly," I call out as I walked into the isle with a big gum ball machine that was as tall as the warehouse-type-store.

"Here!" She calls back, and I find her filling a bag with candy while a sweet lady helped her pick it out. She had a workers uniform and her name tag read Clarissa. Her shaggy blonde hair was covering the sides of her face as she bent down to point to another type of candy.

I watch over them as the girl gives me a kind smile, but Ophelia doesn't even spare me a glance as she picks through the chocolate coins in the gold foil wrapping. I grabbed a big variety pack of candy to add into the goody bags I'm making. I don't want Ophelia to experience the lack of a birthday like I did. 

As I was going to ask her to finish picking out her candy so we can leave, I got a phone call. Looking at the number I sighed in relief. I had been waiting for a call from a cookie company I found who makes custom cookies. I was going to ask if they could make a few John Wick inspired cookies.

The phone call was brief. All I asked was how much it would be and that I would send them the deposit and the photos of what I wanted them to look like. As I hung up, Ophelia threw herself onto me which I wasn't expecting. "Look at all the candy I picked out!" She squealed as she opened the bag to show me.

There was everything from chocolates to rainbow strips to lollipops. I knew Jules would kill me, but her smile was too contagious. "That's good, sweetie," I reply as I hold her hand so we can go to the checkout.