sembell:

Part 1 of “Three years old” can be read here 🙂

Part 2

April 14th, 2017

Watching a man holding his little daughter, swaying to the melody of Frank Sinatra’s smooth voice while the child, exhausted from a day full of happiness and laughter, clung to him as if he was her only rock, the only one who would bring her safely through yet another dark, bustling night, was as close to get a taste of complete bliss as it could get.

Eaden’s head was slumped against her father’s broad shoulder, whose nose was deeply buried into the nape of her neck. Gillian could hear him humming softly to their daughter, and every now and then, he tilted his head slightly to look at her face, watching her eyes getting heavier while she was tiredly looking at her own little fingers tracing the collar of his shirt.

It was the perfect ending to a very special day for their little girl, and for her entire family.

To witness how loved their daughter was by all of her siblings, grandparents and friends was one of the best feelings for a parent.

Knowing how much dedication and time her sisters had put into the three tiered, ocean themed birthday cake with a giant whale on top. It had taken them days to plan this thing just because their little sister was probably the only three-year-old girl around who didn’t want Elsa, Anna or any other recent Disney princess on her cake. Instead, their little Arielle had asked for her very own underwater queendom, as she insisted it should be called.

And her brothers, all hilarious in their own way and absolutely smitten with their little sister, did their absolute best to make this day the most memorable and special day Eaden had ever had by being the sweetest, most patient and generous boys around.

Or watching her open up her presents, one more thoughtful than the other, and seeing the glint in her eyes when she realized that she didn’t just get one package of chewing gum, but one from each of the thirteen countries they all had visited in the last couple of months. All coming with a little story about the person who’d sold them, which their big-hearted, little adventurer loved just as much as the gum itself.

This girl brought so much joy to their family, and Gillian was so grateful for every single day, every moment they got to see her growing up and every memory they were able to make with her. She was worth all the hard times, every tear and every fight they had to survive in order to get to the point when all that was left was the heart.

“Hey, get over here, beautiful,” David suddenly whispered over Eaden’s head, his lips curved in a warm smile as he extended his arm towards her.

She didn’t hesitate to step into his embrace, and as soon as he had his arm securely wrapped around her waist, Gillian snuggled close to her warm, cozy little girl already clad in her soft pyjamas. While the delicious baby smell was long gone, Gillian still loved her daughter’s sweet scent. It was as fresh, satisfying and addicting as ever.

“Did you have a good day, baby?” Gillian asked and gently stroked a few strands of hair out of Eaden’s face.

“Yeah,” she nodded, her voice barely above a whisper. Gillian was surprised that she wasn’t cranky in the slightest given how tired she looked with her puffy, dazed eyes.

“That’s wonderful! It was a very special day today, wasn’t it? Lots of nice people came over and brought so many great presents, right?”

“Yeah,” David agreed and placed a chaste kiss on his daughter’s forehead before nuzzling his nose into her blond bangs. “And we had a lot of good food today. You loved the burgers, didn’t you? And I can’t wait to eat the rest of the cake with you tomorrow, honey.”

“I’m thwee now,” she whispered, and both David and Gillian couldn’t help but chuckle quietly at their daughter’s slurred statement.

“Yeah,” David said softly and rubbed her back. “Three years ago today you came into our lives as a tiny, beautiful little baby. And you made us very, very happy.”

Eaden hummed softly and raised her head from his chest, fighting so hard to keep her eyes open while looking at her father. “Bwown hair?” she asked, her expression almost concerned.  

“Yes, you had brown hair when you were born, but it turned blond very quickly,” David replied with amusement, and as if his answer had just made her day completely perfect, Eaden heaved a relieved sigh, put her thumb into her mouth, closed her eyes and nestled her face against David’s chest.

They kept swaying to the music, enjoying each other’s warmth and the quiet and peace that was surrounding them.

After a while, Gillian risked a curious glance at Eaden’s face before smiling up at David.

“She’s completely zonked out.”

“Thank god, I thought she was about to get a little delusional,” he joked. “It was a big day for her.”

“Yeah. I’m pretty worn out myself,” Gillian admitted with a wink.

“Hmm, what do you think about tucking her in real quick and then… start to work on that birthday present she didn’t get this year?” he grinned mischievously at her and waggled his eyebrows.

Gillian shot him an incredulous look, but then burst into laughter so that she had to bury her face into the side of his arm to muffle the sound.

“That was so bad,” she chuckled into his shirt.

“What?” he asked in bewilderment. “At least we can tell her next year that we tried really hard for that little brother.”

“We could’ve already told her the same thing this year.”

David pursed his lips and shrugged his shoulders in defeat. “True.”

“But you know…” she said seductively before getting on her tiptoes to give him a soft, lingering kiss and then tilted her head slightly to the side to look into his eyes. “You could tuck her in while I’m putting on something nice for the night… and we’ll just… take it from there. What do you think?”

“I think you’re full of brilliant ideas,” he said, and with a last quick kiss, put his hand on the small of her back and guided her out of the living room, turning off the lights behind him.

While Gillian disappeared into their bedroom, he slowly walked towards the other end of the hallway, and just as he was about to step over the threshold into Eaden’s room, she tightened her hold around his neck, making him stop in his tracks and looking down at her.

She was giving him the puppy eyes and the stuck out bottom lip, and then, in the sweetest voice imaginable, Eaden said, “It’s my birthday, Daddy. Can I sleep in your bed tonight, pwease?”