Part 3 of the Sloth birthday extravaganza!
I think I'm gonna pass out!
Christian
Sloane looks at her mother, "MOMMY WHY ARE YOU CRYING?"
"Because you're crying." Ana replies through her own falling tears.
"HUH? I'M CRYING?" Sloane wipes her face to check, "OH MY GOD I'M CRYING! WHY AM I CRYING?" She wails and we all are losing it as we watch mother and daughter fall into a fit of laughter through the tears sinking into a mess on the floor. It's contagious.
The two new arrivals in the meantime walk in with the precious cargo they've brought, carefully side stepping Ana and Sloane, as they try to keep themselves from laughing as well.
"IT'S A SLOTH!" Sloane cries and laughs, pointing from her vantage point on the floor. I walk closer to them and Ana's giggling as she raises her hand up for me to grab and help her up with Sloane. "Mommy! I have a real sloth at my party."
Ana wipes her face and kisses her forehead, "I see that, Sloffee! You're so lucky!"
"I think I'm gonna pass out!" she cries, with a hand on her forehead. In the meantime, the two caretakers introduce themselves as Dave and Tess from the Seattle zoo. I figured, the human Sloth needed to have an actual sloth make an appearance at her birthday party. She'd never held one before and what better opportunity than the present to make sure that happened.
"This is Greta and she's very excited to meet you," Dave tells Sloane. "Happy Birthday!"
"I'm a sloth too! My Mommy called me that when I was a baby." Sloane tells him.
Dave smiles, "I heard something about that. Which is why Greta really wanted to meet you." He lifts up Greta from her carrier and gently places her on the little hanging gym they've brought along. Sloane's excitement is nuclear but in the best way of course. She singles out every person in the room making sure they too can see it.
"I don't have any leaves to feed her." Sloane pouts but Dave and Tess assure her they've brought reinforcements and had Sloane some to feed her new guest. A few minutes later, Tess picks up Greta and asks Sloane if she'd like to hold her.
Sloane's eyes go wide and she nods furiously. The moment Greta wraps her limbs around Sloane's neck, she starts to cry again.
"She's so beautiful, can I keep her? Please?" Sloane's earnesty is adorable and for some reason soul-crushing at the same time.
"Her home is actually at the zoo, she's got more friends and family there but there is something we can promise.. you can come see her anytime and she's actually going to be having a baby of her own in a few weeks."
"She's going to have a baby sloth?"
"That's right," Tess smiles, "and we were thinking we'd name her Sloane."
"She's having a baby girl? Her name is going to be Sloane, like me?" Dave and Tess nod, "MOMMY, DO YOU HEAR THAT? WE HAVE FOUR SLOANES IN THE FAMILY NOW!"
"Am I the world's youngest grandma or what?" Ana laughs and we all chuckle. I try to remember who the fourth Sloane is and realize she's talking about the plant she got last week.
Soon, one by one, everyone except for Ray, Dad, Clarissa and myself, get their turn to hold the sloth. Metcalf is the most excited after Sloane and Sienna to hold Greta.
"LOOK Y'ALL, I'M HOLDIN' A SLOTH!" He grins and asks Ciara to get tons of pictures.
The room erupts in laughter as he poses with her and gets a few pictures with Sloane and Sienna in different groupings.
When it's time for Dave and Tess to leave, Sloane actually walks them down the hallway to the freight elevator and tells Greta she'll come visit very soon and will bring Sloane Jr. some presents.
Loud laughter from one corner of the room catches my attention. It's Dad, Ray, José Sr. Wilson and Metcalf cackling as Dad shows them something on his phone. What the hell? Elliot and I exchange a look and it soon becomes apparent what they were watching when Metcalf makes direct eye contact with us.
"Brah! The girls nuked you two."
Dad's shown them the embarrassing video of the game we played two weeks ago. This man has zero loyalty to us. Traitor.
He then high fives Sloane and tells her she's one of the best players he's seen.
"And you've got a killer arm," he looks toward Ana who blushes.
"Thanks, my dad taught me everything I know!" She giggles and walks closer to the guys, "you see me right? And you see him?" She points to me, "it was–"
"Hold on a second!" I silence her, "you guys cheated!"
"I'm sorry, is someone sore from losing?" Ana raises a brow.
Baby, don't make me make you sore because we both know I can.
"No, we didn't cheat. We just played better," Sloane climbs on the chair to gain some height and participate in this exchange. Sienna joins her as well. They're synchronized already, having only met a little over an hour ago. "My Mommy and I can teach you all our secrets too," she tells the two professional football players in front of her. The confidence in this kid is off the charts and out of this world.
"And I'm their manager so, have your people call me and we can discuss numbers," Ray chimes in.
"Yeah, we're in demand." Ana shrugs with her usual sass.
Wilson and Metcalf share a wary look.
"Damn! Okay… we'll be in touch." Wilson nods and invites all of us over for the games they'll be playing at Lumen field in two weeks.
Sloane is beside herself once more at the thought of watching the game in a stadium atmosphere.
It's now time to cut the cake so we all gather around the main dining table, with Sloane seated and excited in anticipation. Kate and Mia help Ana light the cake with sparklers and when she turns around and walks closer, we all start to sing Happy Birthday to Sloane as Ana slowly places the cake, all smiles and teary-eyed at the sight of her daughter.
The moment we all get to Happy Birthday dear… everyone goes off into their own nicknames for her and it's a hilarious commotion of Sloane, Sloanie, Sloth, Sloffee, Slofster, Slothasaurus, Perezoso being said before we all cheer for her and clap.
She's smiling and laughing so much, I silently wonder if the poor kid's face is hurting.
Her cake is a simple chocolate ganache with miniature edible sloth decorations that Ana told me she got from this bakeware website. Sloane of course approves and makes sure that every single person gets cake and tells her how it is.
"Doesn't my Mommy make the best cake?"
"That she does," I agree, taking a bite of said celebratory dessert. Ana wraps her arms around my waist and tries to take a two minute power nap.
"Tired?" I chuckle and she laughs, opening her mouth so that I can feed her some cake too. "There are two more surprises, you might want to drink a red bull."
"Christian… you're crazier than her."
I snort, "nothing can match the collective crazy of you two."
We're interrupted by Wilson, Metcalf and company telling us they had a wonderful time but they have to head out. Sloane and Sienna are almost inseparable but promises are made to reconnect again.
Ana thanks them profusely and walks them to the door, wishing them farewell. When she closes it and turns around she squeals like she's won the jackpot.
"GUESS WHO GOT CIARA'S PHONE NUMBER? I DID. THAT'S RIGHT! I HAVE A CELEBRITY MOM FRIEND WHO TOTALLY THINKS I'M COOL TO HANG OUT WITH."
The room laughs at her enthusiasm.
"You know you're saying that out loud, right?" Ethan teases.
"You know I can whoop your butt for raining on my Ciara parade, right?" She warns and heads over to me, "I have a celebrity's number in my phone! And, and… wait," she goes through her phone to show me a picture, "that's a picture or my face next to Ciara's face."
"You guys look good together," Elliot says and I glare at him. Fucker's doing this on purpose.
She sighs with a content smile, "I know, right? We're just meant to be."
"You sound like an insane stalker." I say and she slowly cranes her face to me.
"Don't talk smack about me fulfilling my destiny."
What the fuck? Is she for real? Elliot must notice my confusion because he laughs and points to my face telling Ana about my earlier fear that I stupidly said aloud.
She's silent and watching me after the revelation.
"Dude, have you seen her? I'd be a fool not to consider it." When my eyes grow wide she bursts out into laughter, "my god, RELAX, it's just a joke. My main piece dreams are more aligned with being her main BFF. You can rest easy on that front. You're right, Elliot, he's so easy to rattle." They both high five and she reaches up to kiss the corner of my mouth.
"You're insane," I mutter, relieved that she's only sexually interested in one gender and specifically, me, to take care of all matters of the sexual nature.
"Insane and pretty with a hot celebrity friend. Get it right," she grins.
It's time for surprise #4 and #5 and I've only got 15 minutes in between them, so I take Sloane and Ana out on the balcony.
"Alright, Sloane!" I say to her and she looks at me with a serious face, "you're turned five today which means you're getting 5 surprises. It's now time for surprise or let's say, present #4. Are you ready?"
"Oh god!" Ana chuckles.
"Of course I am ready, Christian. I am ALWAYS ready for presents." She rolls her eyes, "Mommy, please tell him."
"True, I forgot about that for a minute." I laugh, "since there's not much time today, you can cash in this present at a later date. Whenever you feel like it, you call me on your walkie talkie and I will take you on a grand tour of Seattle and Mt. Rainier on my helicopter."
Ana gasps and Sloane's eyes go wide.
"On your helicopter? YOU will fly it? High up in the sky," she points up at the natural canvas above us that's steadily blending into night.
"Yes, Miss Sloth."
"But why can't we go now? It's my birthday today. Is it a big helicopter? Everyone can go with us then."
I chuckle, "it won't fit everyone and there's actually something else we need to do right after this so there won't be any time since it'll be dark and you won't be able to see much."
"Oh," she pouts in contemplation and looks at me with her hopeful blue eyes. "Can we go tomorrow?"
"Baby, it's a school night." Ana reminds her and suggests this weekend if my schedule allows it. It's like she doesn't know me at all, I'll make my schedule allow it.
"But…" Sloane thinks for a few seconds, "Mommy can you close your ears? I have to tell my best friend a secret."
Ana snorts, "I don't think so, you're going to try and get out of daycare tomorrow… I can feel it."
"But Mommy, I won't be able to go. I'll be tired from being so awesome today. It takes a lot of hard work to celebrate your birthday."
"Are you for real right now?" Ana parks her hands on her hips at her daughter's very sound reasoning for taking a day off. "Sweetheart, on the weekend or sometime next week. Christian has work tomorrow as well. And so do I."
Sloane sighs and reluctantly agrees to cash in her present at a later date but then she immediately remembers there's another surprise, the big #5.
"For that we need to head to the roof," I wink at her and her eyes light up but before she can head out, Ana reminds her to say something.
Since I'm seated already, Sloane walks back to give me a tight hug and kisses me hard on the cheek and cradles my face. "I LOVE YOU. YOU ARE MY BESTEST FRIEND FOREVER. THANK YOU!"
The aggressive affection from her is surprising. She doesn't even give me time to react, dropping me like a hot potato and walks off while Ana laughs and leans in to kiss me deeply. "Are you blushing Christian Grey?"
"No." I mumble, feeling my cheeks pink and a little weirded out but also oddly happy that they're both happy and this day was a success.
"Yeah, you are, and it's so cute" she giggles, cupping my face tenderly. "You're my bestest boyfriend forever, you know." She kisses me again, "for now at least." I frown at that and she laughs again, "what… I gotta keep you humble."
"You're my bestest girlfriend forever."
"I'm also your only girlfriend ever!" she reminds me with a chuckle.
And I want you to be my wife forever.
With one last quick kiss to my lips, she walks back in and works to gather everyone and lead them up to the roof garden.
Sloane walks around when we arrive on the roof, looking for anything that resembles what could be a gift.
"I can't find it," she turns to me confused, brows knitted together just like her mothers when she's thinking very hard. I chuckle and tell her she'll find it any minute now. "But how can I find it if I don't look for it? I need a clue!"
And then suddenly the sky above us calls our attention and bursts of red, blue, yellow and pink take over.
Our group including some of the other residents from the building all gasp in surprise at the unexpected visual treat of bright and bejeweled sparks of light.
"FIREWORKS! FOR ME!" Sloane screams. I laugh, nodding and she raises her arms for me to pick her up, which I immediately do. "MOMMY, LOOK!" She points up, her eyes reflecting all the colors and sparks of the display. "THEY ARE SO PRETTY. LOOK EVERYONE THESE ARE FIREWORKS FOR MY BIRTHDAY!" Our group claps loud and cheers as do some of the bystanders.
I look down at Ana who gazes up at me with glassy eyes, filled with love and gratitude. I kiss her forehead and tell her that I love her. She nestles in close and we stand with everyone we know, watching in delight as we conclude a very special Sloth's 5th birthday party.
Sloane is knocked out in our short trip from the roof back to the apartment.
"She crashed hard," I chuckle.
"It's like she said, celebrating your birthday is hard," Ana giggles.
After laying Sloane in her bed, I leave Ana to tuck her in and walk out to Kate, Ethan, Mia and Elliot quickly cleaning up the apartment while putting away the food. I'm roped in too and given a brand new trash bag to make myself useful. It's been a while since I did clean up duty. Mom's summer soiree events from my teenagehood come to mind. I see the flash of a camera go off and immediately know that it's Elliot because his cackling follows right after.
"How to humble a billionaire," he snickers.
"Get lost," I bark at him and continue grabbing some of the napkins on the floor.
The parentals left almost immediately after the display ended, giving the sleepy Sloth goodbye hugs. So it's just us. Ana walks out a few minutes later and tells everyone to calm down and go home, that she'll take care of everything else but no one pays attention to her and rightly so.
Kate and Elliot are the last to leave and then it's just us. I can see Ana is exhausted but she's doing a good job of acting like she's perfectly fine.
"Don't. Come on, let's get you to bed."
"I don't wanna go to bed," she whines, giggling. I ignore her plea and throw her over my shoulder and head off to her room. But when I put her down she wraps her arms about me tight and begins to sob.
"Baby, what's wrong?"
"This day was so amazing. It was like her birthday and my birthday and like… all our past birthdays and July 4th, Memorial day, Christmas, Valentines Day, Labor Day, Hanukkah and, and… it was just so awesome."
I chuckle and tighten my hold on her too, "you forgot Thanksgiving."
"OH MY GOD," she cries, "that's my Sloffee's favorite holiday. Don't tell her I forgot it."
"I won't, baby." When she loosens her hold a fraction, I pull back and look at her red and now puffy face, "does this mean I'm off the hook for your birthday?"
"Of course you'd ask that. You unfortunate looking cheapskate," she giggles through a shiver.
"Anything you want, I'll make it happen… even though I find you deeply unattractive" I stroke her cheek, smiling.
"I just want you," she whimpers and hides her face in my neck. "Actually, I lie, I wouldn't mind having that waffle truck on 4th ave at my disposal for the day. Oh and a massage maybe. I'm a simple, extremely high maintenance girl with eclectic and expensive taste so plan accordingly."
We both laugh and kiss, slowly discarding our clothes and quietly losing ourselves in each other. There's so much emotion between us that words aren't needed, our bodies communicate perfectly.
We lay in each other's embrace, going through some of the pictures on our phones from the day. There's one of Ana and myself, while I hold Sloane up in my arms and we're smiling like we've been a family forever. Ana quickly adds that as her phone background, telling me that Sloane's going to want to see the photos every single day for the rest of her life and what's more, I have absolutely no doubt that she will.
As she slowly drifts off to sleep, I replay the entire day and one moment among the many sticks out in my mind from just a little while ago during the firework display.
I don't know why but I looked over to Mom and Dad. Mom winked at me, her face filled with joy and Dad gave me a discreet thumbs up, I nodded in reply with a small smile. I'm not sure if I was ever looking for their approval when it came to Ana and Sloane but knowing that I had it and that they thought I'd done a good job today really meant a lot. It made me feel normal.
For the first time ever, I wasn't standing alone while watching the fireworks. This time, I was standing with my future and it was bright and colorful. More than I could ever have dared to dream of for myself.
A/N: Well, would you look at that? Christian Grey knows how to throw a birthday party, he's secretly a kid himself isn't he? And he is all up in his feelings about these two animals in his life.
While it's nice to read that you love the story, what I really love to see from you is your reaction to the things happening, what the characters are thinking and saying and of course, what you think is going to happen in the future. Yeah, so… talk to me!