Happy Birthday

We finally made it through the day without Bosco finding out about the surprise dinner we were having for him at Haggerty's. Usually on Christmas Eve we stayed home and had a light supper and then headed off to church but this year we wanted to do something special for him and had invited everyone that we used to work with at the 55th. Haggerty's was a restaurant and pub that we frequented all of the years that we were on the force. It had great food and the best bar snacks in town and it brought back only happy memories for us. It seemed fitting for Bosco's fifty-seventh birthday to be spent with people that meant so much to us.

Everyone was going to be there; Lieu Swersky, Sully, Brendan Finney, and of course, Ty and Sasha. Mikey and his partner were had promised to be there even if it was only for a while. They both had the Christmas Eve shift because neither of them had children or were married and it would give other officers time with their own families. It gave me great pleasure to know that everyone had taken time out of their usual Christmas Eve routine's to have dinner with us. It meant a lot to me and I knew that it would touch Bosco to know how much everyone still cared for him.

The only hard part about our little ruse was getting Bosco to the restaurant without catching on that something was up. As soon as he had woken up that morning I knew he was planning on snooping around and generally making a nuisance of himself for the better part of the day. I had come into the bedroom to put away some clean clothes and found him on his hands and knees peering under the bed. Of course, he pretended that he was really looking for something and tried to cover it as best he could, but I wasn't born yesterday.

'What are you looking for?' I asked, trying to contain the laughter that was building. 'And by the way, Mr. Boscorelli, cute tushie'.

He backed himself up as fast as he could, obviously not wanting me to know that he was snooping. He stood up and looked up at the ceiling, as if looking for an answer that I'd actually believe then he glanced down at his wrist.

'Nothin. I thought I left my watch under there somewhere...so I thought I'd better check...'

I rolled my eyes as I proceeded to put away our clothes. I opened a drawer and deposited our clean socks and underwear neatly. "Yes. I had a feeling that it had fallen off of your wrist and crawled under the bed.'

'Ya...well...it could happen Faith.' he said with his classic grin. 'And besides, it's my birthday. You can't be mad at the birthday boy.' he said in a sing-song voice, as he came up beside me and wrapped his arms around my waste. He kissed my neck and squeezed me tight. "Do you have anything special for me on this most glorious day that I should know about?'

I giggled and turned around to face the man I loved and leaned in and gave him a big kiss. 'You aren't getting any information from me so don't even think about it...but I do have something for you for later.' I said, lowering my voice so it purred suggestively.

He raised his eyebrows and watched me as I walked over to the closet and pulled out a new black Victoria's Secret nightie and held it before me. I was still proud of the body I had and even in my fifties I still looked forty and was darn proud of it and his face told me that he was very pleased.

'Do I get a sneak peak?' he asked, his voice husky.

'Nah. Not until tonight.' I said winking at him. I put it back in the closet and shut the door. 'And don't try to find whatever you think it is that we're hiding for you. You won't find anything.' I said sweetly.

'You can't outsmart the master Faith. Ya can't do it.' He said confidently shaking his head. He swatted my bottom as I walked past him to go back down stairs. 'I'll find out...don't you worry. I'll find out'. He muttered and followed it with an evil little laugh. He had watched 'Austin Powers' way too many times for my liking.

He always managed to find out part of whatever we had planned and prided himself in the fact that he could always outsmart us, giving me his triumphant grin he would tell me that he missed his calling; he should have been a detective. He never let on to the kids that he had figured out what they were planning, for that would have been hurtful, but he always, always let me know just how darn smart he was. But not this year.

For one thing, we had decided to order pizza at lunch time and give him his gifts early so that he thought that was the birthday celebration. Emma and Rob had got up about ten and decided to ask Bosco if he'd like to go shopping for an hour or so to give me time to order the pizza and set the table and to generally get him out of our hair. About ten-thirty Rob, Bosco and Brett hopped into Rob's Explorer and drove down our long circular drive, Bosco looking out the window and nodding his head, as if he had figured it all out and was just humoring us.

'Daddy looks great mom, even if he is fifty-seven, doesn't he?' Emma said as we watched them drive away.

'Huh?' I said. I was thinking about Brett and his conversation with whom I could only presume had been Carly earlier that morning. What was going on?

'I said daddy looks great. You ok mom?' she asked, throwing one of her arms around me and resting her head on my shoulder.

'Yes. I'm fine. I was just thinking about the party later. Did you hear from Mikey today? Is he bringing Kath?' I asked as we made our way back to the kitchen. Mikey had fallen in love with his, then, partner, Kathleen Kelly, whom he had met the first day at the Academy and they had been dating for quite a while. They had both paired up with new partners a few months ago because they both felt that it wasn't good for the job or for their relationship to be together at work as well as off duty. But recently, there had been trouble, which no one would talk openly to me about, and as far as I knew, they were considering splitting up. I was very distraught over the situation. I loved Kath. She was the best thing that had ever happened to my son, as far as I was concerned. It was no secret that Mikey liked the ladies and had been quite wild in his exploits, but that was only until he had met her. She had tamed him, and brought out the best in him and I was very sorry to see it coming to an end.

There were many times that Kath had come to our house and had tea with me or worked on scrap booking with me. I had longed for her to open up to me but she never talked about what was wrong between them. Mikey still talked to his father about his relationships but not to me. It hurt that he would keep me out of that part of his life but I didn't make an issue out of it. After all, Brett talked to me more than he did to Bosco, so it was kind of a trade off.

'Yes. He called when you were in the shower. He's coming over for the pizza and he said he'd try to stop by for an hour or so to Haggerty's but...' she trailed off, obviously deciding if she would say any more.

'What is it?' I asked, stopping in mid walk.

She raised her slender hand to her mouth and chewed one of her finger nails. Clearly she was apprehensive about telling me what she knew. She and Mikey were very close and had dinner together every week or so. She knew plenty about what was going on.

'Well, I just thought you should know that he broke up with Kath and I don't think she's gonna come tonight.' she said sadly. She winced as she looked at me, hoping to not upset me, her deep blue eyes reflecting my own feelings on the situation. She, too, loved Kath and thought of her as a sister.

'Ohhhhh.' I breathed, not sure what to say. I felt tears spring to my eyes and I brushed them away quicky.

'Mom, you know as well as I do that Mike isn't the kind of guy to settle down with just one woman. He needs...variety.' Emma said, stressing the word 'variety'. It seemed to me that she was as displeased with Mikey as I was and just as hurt over his breakup. But my son was old enough to decide for himself and I knew that he would resent my interfering.

A cry from upstairs brought me back to the present. Emma rubbed my arm tenderly. 'Don't worry mom. He'll settle down one of these days.'

She looked toward the stairs. 'I better go get her. But I'll be right down to help you arrange everything, ok?' She smiled and chucked me under the chin, the way I used to do to her when she was small. I nodded and gave her a quick grin.

I watched my daughter walk up the stairs to get her daughter and shook my head. She had always been the little mother, even when she was young. She was usually the first one to give comfort or a big hug or words of encouragement when someone was upset. She had grown into a wonderful young woman and I was very proud of her.

I walked back to the kitchen and proceeded to order the pizza for our lunch celebration. How quicky life changes, I thought to myself as I carefully set the table. In seconds, my children grew up before my eyes and left to make their way in the world. How fast it had become clear to me that I would not always be included in the bitter details of their personal lives. Not only was Brett having a hard time and was keeping secrets from me, but now Mikey had thrown away the best relationship he had ever had.

Why was it that men had this lust for all kinds of women embedded deep inside them? Was there ever a man made who didn't want to have many conquests? Even Bosco had played around for years, taking one woman home after another, trying to fill a void that he thought existed. Why did men find it so hard to commit? But Bosco did commit and he did settle down into family life. Would the same be true for my second son?

All of these questions loomed in the darkest corners of my mind as I finished getting everything ready for my husband's party.

The dinner celebration was wonderful. Bosco acted like he was surprised, but I knew he had got something out of either Brett or Rob on the shopping trip. He was incessant and could drive even the craziest person crazy with his constant questions and badgering about what they had planned, but when we all sat down together at the table, with Little Faith sitting on her gapa's lap, it made my heart soar to see him so happy.

Brett had invited Carly over to have the meal with us. There was no difference in the way that they spoke to each other or looked at one another and I began to wonder if he had even been talking to her on the phone earlier. But, who else would he be talking to that he would say 'my parents love you'? I watched them as closely as I could without drawing attention to myself but I couldn't see anything wrong. Maybe they had gotten over it?

Mikey had shown up a half an hour late. He came strolling in the house with his familiar confident stride, without apologizing for his lateness. He looked like he had run all the way. He was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans but his hair was messy and his face was flushed.

A very handsome man, was my second son and very, very secure with his masculinity. His dark hair and beautiful eyes were his best traits. He was tall and lean and was very proud of his muscled body. He worked out at the police gym all the time and he was very well put together, which was something he never failed to let everyone know. He had inherited Bosco's temper and his face. Almost an exact duplicate of his father, except he was over six feet tall. Mikey had nothing of me in him as far as I could tell. He talked like his father, walked like his father and had a way of complaining that made me swear Bosco had crawled in there and was directing his every word. It annoyed me that he would show up late to the party. He knew what time it was and he should have been there when I told him to be, but I bit my lip and closed my lips for fear that I would say something to him about Kath.

'Look at you dad!' his loud voice boomed as he made his way around the table to give his father a hug.

'Still lookin good for an old guy! Maybe you'll have to tell me your secret cause if I look as good as you do when I'm your age I'll be havin no trouble pickin up!' he half shouted.

I rolled my eyes. That boy would never know the joy of having someone to love as long as he played around. No one said a word. By now, we all knew about the breakup and were all very saddened by it.

'Maybe you should stop taking like a playa and come over here and give your little sis a hug' Emma piped up.

Obligingly, he came around to her side and hugged her close, then leaned down to kiss Little Faith on the cheek. Next he gave Brett a manly squeeze and bent down to kiss Carly on the cheek, and last, came over to me. He looked like he expected me to chastise him for being late or maybe he figured out that I knew what had happened with him and Kath, but either way, he flashed his grin at me and winked.

'Hi ma. Sorry I'm late. I got...well...a little tied up.' he quipped as he gathered me in his strong arms. I felt my resolve slipping away as I hugged him back.

'It's ok baby. You're here now and that's all that matters.' I said lovingly. There was so much more going on than I knew about, but now was not the time to dwell on it.

The afternoon was filled with lots of laugher and chatting. We all moved into the livingroom and put our presents under the tree and had hot chocolate. We talked about the years gone by and things that we had done together as a family. No matter what was going on in all of the lives of my children, nothing could compare with us all being together as a family.

We had decided that everyone would make up fake plans to go somewhere and then we'd all meet at Haggerty's about six. I would talk Bosco into getting something to eat at the old place and then we'd surprise him.

After Emma and Rob had left, Mikey had to go to work and Brett and Carly decided to go visit Sasha and Ty. Carly and Brett really did have a legimate excuse for leaving. Carly's brother, Tyrone and his girlfriend Tania and their son, Elijah were visiting and Carly hadn't seen them for quite a while.

I walked upstairs to go get something from the washroom when I heard someone vomiting from behind the closed door. I knew it was Carly and knocked on the door. 'Carly? Are you ok in there?'

'Ya. I'm fine Faith. I'll be right out.' she called weakly, I thought.

A few seconds later she emerged, her face looking pale. 'Must have been something I ate. I'll see you later.' She said and quickly ran down stairs to meet Brett.

Almost as if she wanted to flee from me and my questions, she ran out the front door and slammed it shut. The echo leaving me in silence.

I went into my room and laid down on the bed for a short rest. There would be time later to find out just what mysteries were lurking around, but for now, I snuggled against Bosco's warm sleeping body and hoped that everything would work out fine.