sembell:

A series of drabbles based on the request:
Can you write something for Gillian’s and David’s birthday with Eaden and her siblings, please? Maybe in the Vancouver house.

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It was a complicated matter, her parents’ birthdays.

Eaden knew that they were in the month of August and Daddy’s birthday always came before Mommy’s. But that was the easy part.

Apparently, Dad’s birthday was two days before Mom’s. Eaden had asked if that meant that David was two days older than Gillian, but frankly, it didn’t. Well, not exactly, Gillian had replied, and there had been an expression on her face that Eaden hadn’t been able to figure out. It kind of resembled her “Are you serious?” face, the one she was wearing when Eaden had been naughty. Or when one of her brother’s had hurt himself again.

Anyway, Daddy was two days older than Mommy and at the same time, he wasn’t.

He told her something about eight years when she’d asked him, which, in her book, made even less sense. Eight years? Even if she was just three years old, Eaden knew very well that this was more than two times her age.

No, it made absolutely no sense at all.

Neither did the fact that Daddy had asked her what she wanted to give Mommy for her birthday way earlier than Mommy did, even though his birthday was before hers. She’d asked him about that too, but he just grinned and told her it was alright that they started earlier, no matter how confusing it seemed to be. The only important thing was to try to not spoil the surprise.

And that’s when it started to get really complicated.

Over weeks, Eaden had spent a lot of time on their presents. But when she was sitting with Mommy on Daddy’s birthday present, she couldn’t tell her that the day before, she’d finished a painting with Daddy that was supposed to be a part of her present. And vice versa.

Needless to say, the excitement went sky high when she learned that David had also prepared a present for Gillian. Something nice and shiny and something with a big meaning were the only clues he’d let on, which was enough to freak her out. How on earth was she supposed to keep that a secret?!

However, she did her best to take her father’s words by heart.

“I know this is exciting, baby. You can decide if you want Mommy to know what you have for her or not. But I think if you keep it to yourself until her birthday, she will be super surprised!”

And who didn’t like surprises?!

What she didn’t know, and wasn’t able to comprehend at this point, was that the last thing David had intended was to put any kind of pressure on his young daughter.

And he’d definitely not wanted her to stand in the hallway of their Vancouver home, sobbing heartbreakingly with tears streaming down her face on a beautiful Sunday night, the day before his birthday.

Not because of her parents’ birthday presents.