"Happy Birthday!" The group shouted as they all raised their glasses. Emma and Sutton were the last of their friends to turn 21 and today was finally the big day. Sutton smiled. Behind her a tiny toddler stood, watching. She held a barbie doll in her hand and brushed it's hair with the pink plastic brush that had come with the doll. On the wall a banner that said "Happy 3rd Birthday Kendall" Still hung on the wall. Hot pink, black and white balloons adorned the floor of Sutton and Emma's tiny apartment. Toys were piled in the corner of the living room, a small play kitchen, with bins of fake food and utensils sat along the empty wall of the kitchen. Often Kendall would pretend to cook while Sutton made dinner or Emma prepared lunch. The balloons matched the girls lavish decor of the apartment. Along the banister of the stair, hot pink streamers twisted around the railing. Pizza boxes were stacked on the bar, two bottles of grey goose vodka had already been emptied and another was half full. The friends stood around a small wooden table in the dining room. They all took a swig at the same time. Ethan, Mads, Amanda, Emma and Sutton all chugged their drinks and slammed the red solo cups on the table. Kendall pulled on Sutton's black party dress, "mommy?" She said quietly. Her long light brown hair had grown down to her hips and was now twisted into two side braids. She wore long dark blue denim jeans and a black and white striped long sleeve shirt was tucked into her jeans. Her brown braided belt held the shirt in. She had on black fuzzy boots. She looked like a mini Sutton Mercer. Sutton put her hand down and gently pushed her daughter away. Kendall looked down at the doll and then back up at her mother, she tugged on Sutton's dress again, "mommy?" Her voice was a little more stern now, but still not enough to make her mom turn her focus off her friends as they laughed at the most recent comedy they'd just gotten home from.
Emma turned and looked down at the little girl, "Hey princess, what's up?" She said squating down to Kendall's size. They had just celebrated Kendall's third birthday and she hadn't let go of the barbie that Emma had gotten her.
Kendall looked at her, "I'm hungy." She said looking at her aunt.
Emma smiled and lifted the little girl, settling her on her hip. Kendall put her head on her aunts shoulder as they walked to the kitchen, "Hmm, let's see what do you want?"
Kendall pushed open the door to the pantry and pointed to the top shelf, "M&M'S!" She said proudly.
Emma looked at the clock on the stove, It was after 10pm and the fact that Kendall was even still awake at this hour made Emma uncomfortable. She looked back at her sister who'd barely even noticed that her sister or daughter have left the room. Emma shook her head. Even though, Sutton typically stuck to a schedule with Kendall, it irritated her that she let Kendall stay up this late around people who had been drinking. Emma looked back at the little girl. She was still wearing her day clothes. Emma grabbed the bag of M&M's and set Kendall back on the floor. The little girl protested at the action, clearly overtired and Emma put a few of the candies in a cup and handed them to Kendall. The little girl smiled and picked a blue one from the cup, crunching down on it and smiling. Emma extended her hand, "Why don't we go get in our PJ's?" She said as Kendall looked up at her. She smiled and took her aunt's hand but when she realized she could no longer get the candies from the cup to her mouth, she let go of Emma's hand and popped another into her mouth.
Kendall's room was small. A small twin sized bed sat along side the same wall as her door. Her room looked just like the rest of the apartment. Clearly a Sutton Mercer inspired look. The headboard was white paneled. The bed was perfectly made. Kendall's hot pink comforter was smoothed straight. She had about a dozen stuffed dolls and throw pillows all perfectly arranged at the head of the bed. At the foot, a purple plush tinker bell throw blanket folded perfectly over the edge. On the wall, three picture frames hung, decorative artwork that matched the decor of the room. Above the head rest, a small shelf held wooden letters spelling out her name along with two of the snow globes that Kristen had started as a traditional Christmas gift for Kendall on her first Christmas at the Mercer's. Along that wall, long pink drapes hung behind a white dresser. It was perfectly decorated with a large photo of Kendall on the day she was born, her full name, birth date and weight were printed underneath. Smaller picture frames of photo's from Kendall's short life were arranged around the large photo. An all mirror jewelry box that Sutton bought at Pottery Barn kids sat in the middle. Inside it was stuffed full of costume jewelry that Sutton and Emma had bought for her to play with when she played dress up. Along the wall across from Kendall's bed was a large book shelf. The shelves were decorated with specialty books that Sutton's never even read, designer piggy banks, old fashioned camera's, the stuffed doll Ethan gave her when she was born, porcelain ballerina slippers and other knick knacks were set up according to a theme that each shelf had. Between the two shelves, Sutton had set up the changing table. Wicker baskets held pull-ups, baby wipes, a few creams and a cushion for Kendall to lay on. Even though, Sutton was focusing on potty training Kendall, she was still sleeping in pull-ups. Kendall's closet ran along the wall adjacent to the door. Sutton had taken the sliding doors off the hinges and replaced them with hot pink tulle tide together with black ribbons. The closet was packed full of designer dresses, preppy petticoats, old costumes, and holiday dresses. The middle of the closet was separated by a shelf where Sutton kept a few of Kendall's big girl toys and her shoes. She had more shoes than Emma ever had in her life never mind at 3 years old. Clearly the room was set up for design and Kendall only spent time in there to sleep or for time out. Almost all of Kendall's toys had been stored in the living room. Emma lifted the child and set her on the bed. She pulled off the girl's boots and tossed them to the floor. Then she grabbed a clean pair of pajama's and helped Kendall remove her clothes. When she'd finished getting the girl ready for bed she put her back down on the floor, "Let's go tell mommy good night, ok?" Kendall nodded and then took Emma's hand.
Back out in the dining room, the group was still doing shots. Though it wasn't terribly loud, Emma felt uncomfortable having Kendall exposed to this kind of behavior. Kendall ran up to Sutton who was slightly tipsy and hugged her legs. Sutton looked down at her daughter, "There you are, honey." She said her words slurring some. Emma sighed she knew she was going to have to take care of her sister and her niece tonight. "Good night mommy!" She said looking up at her mom.
Sutton smiled, "Night kid, I love you."
Kendall's face lit up, "I love you too!" Then she kissed the side of Sutton's leg and ran back up the stairs to her bedroom. Emma lifted the child and laid her in the large bed. She pulled back the covers and let Kendall crawl in. When Kendall was snuggled in the bed, she grabbed her Duffy Bear doll and squeezed it tight. It was the doll Emma had gotten her on their trip to Disneyland that summer. Kendall looked up at her, "Milk!" She said pointing her tiny finger to the ceiling.
Emma smiled and put a hand to her forehead, "Oh! I almost forgot! " She said smiling.
"Don't worry. I'll help you." Kendall said. Emma told her to stay in the bed while she ran to the kitchen to get a sippy cup of Kendall's chocolate almond milk. It was the only thing she'd had before bed since she stopped breastfeeding. When she returned she handed Kendall the cup. Kendall smiled and took the cup immediately beginning to drink. She only pulled the cup away long enough to ask for a story. Emma smiled and grabbed a Sophia The First storybook that was Kendall's favorite. She'd read the book so many times she didn't even need to look at the words anymore. But still she did the voices like she'd always done. When she was done, a drowsy Kendall had tossed her pink cup to the ground and looked at her aunt, "That was beautiful" she said with a yawn. As Emma bent down to kiss her niece good night, she grabbed the cup. She turned out the light and cracked Kendall's door heading back out to the party.
Ethan was headed out of the bathroom as she was closing the toddler's door. He grabbed her and pulled her into her bedroom across the hall. Emma gasped but relaxed when she saw who had grabbed her. He closed the door and pressed his lips to hers guiding her to the bed. Her room was dark aside from an accent lamp she always had on. It gave just enough light for Ethan to make his way around the room. When she crashed back onto the bed, he crawled over her and she laid back, her hands rested gently on his jaw and kissed him passionately. When he sat up his chocolate brown eyes looked deeply into hers, "Happy birthday my love." He said. His lips tasted like alcohol but something about it was a major turn on.
"Lock the door." she said smiling at him. Ethan took the clue and stood up to lock her door.