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Chapter Thirty Two - Esther

Will and I were playing hide 'n seek, a game his parents never played with him.

They encourage puzzles and mind-complicated ways to exercise my son's brain, but never in my life had I experienced a childhood so bland.

It did, however, put joy in my heart to watch my little boy run away from me after I found him, squealing with excitement and laughing hysterically as he would look back and smile.

Benny and Carol were supposed to be here by now, not that Neil was very stoked about it.

I was nervous about today because I knew it was his birthday, but he didn't want me to know.

The hint was picked up very quickly when we woke up and did our normal routine together, him not saying a single word out of the ordinary while I was pretending not to be a stalker.

After the first newspaper I saw of Neil and his ex wife, I felt inclined to explore a bit more seeing as all I wanted at the time was to get to know him. I found his birth place, what schools he went to, who his parents were, his documented life with Adrienne.

And maybe his birthday.

But I was expecting him to say something to me a lot sooner so we could plan a gathering for him. As this morning went, I figured he liked it the way it was, everyone seemingly oblivious to the day and not sparing him a second glance.

That was the least I could do for him.

So I invited our couple of close friends over for something like a party, but we all agreed to just call it a barbecue.

By the time the blonde haired friend of mine showed with her dad, everyone else already made their drinks, the guys were talking while they timidly, yet shyly, fought over who would grill the meats.

Neil ended up giving Johnson full reign, not having the energy nor the interest in arguing.

"Well hi, darlin'!" Carol called as she rushed over to me, a fancy paper bag from the city in the crook of her elbow.

"Hey, Carol. How's things?"

She playfully patted my forearm and linked our arms together, heading us inside.

"Are you just dying to see what's in here?"

We stop at the kitchen island, out of view of the back yard activities and people.

"Yeah, I guess... you shouldn't have brought anything though," I leaned in for a whisper after checking if anyone was around the corner, "and besides, he doesn't want any gifts, he's pretending he's not even turning a year older today."

Carol tutted and flipped her hair momentarily before digging into the bag, tissue paper rustling.

That doesn't sound like a gift for Neil.

The bag was black and looked so velvety, so I ran my hand along the outside and it was just matte paper stock. Not very soft, but smooth to the touch.

"This is for Neil?"

Both of her hands were trying to separate the thin paper from the gift, and when she did, my cheeks flushed.

And I mean, flushed.

I quickly put a hand on the piece she was holding up, stuffing it back into the bag before anyone saw.

"What is with you? Bringin' somethin' like that to this family-friendly bar-be-que?" I asked, over enunciating what the gathering was supposed to be.

All she could do was chuckle at me as she helped me put it back into the bag.

"Alright, I can respect your privacy, only for so long though."