I Think You Missed Your Calling
It was that time of year again. The day of Winter and Robyn's only child's birthday had been slowly approaching. Just like it had every day for the last few years. And much to your surprise, Weiss had been way less resistant to going than you had been. Was Weiss Schnee excited or thrilled in any way to spend an entire afternoon in a house filled with little kids? Absolutely not. But you were even less thrilled. The mere idea of tens of children running around, screaming and being loud. And not to mention dirty. Kids always had something on their hands, no matter what. It was always guaranteed that you would be greeted by hands that were either sticky, wet or dirty in some fashion.
But when Winter and Robyn invite you to a birthday party for your nephew, you have to show up. Regardless of whether or not you want to. It was also your sister-in-law, which didn't make attempts to resist going any easier.
To make matters worse, Winter called Weiss in complete panic mode the night before the party because she forgot to order a cake. How do you plan an entire party and forget the cake? It's for kids, there could be nothing but the cake and the party would be fine. And for some unknown reason, Weiss told Winter that it was fine. That you would just bake cupcakes instead and the two of you could bring them.
You have nothing against baking. You rather enjoy cooking. And baking. But you didn't care for baking and decorating four dozen cupcakes until two in the morning the day of this birthday party. Also, for someone that only sets foot in the kitchen to reheat leftovers and help clean up dishes, Weiss was making some hefty promises for this party. She did, however, sit and watch while you did all the work. And you appreciated her company. The cupcakes did look flawless, but that wasn't the point. The cupcakes could look like they've been run over by a car and the kids would still eat them. They were kids.
—
When the two of you arrive at Winter's house, you can hear the dreadful sound of children at play long before you can see it.
"Are you sure we can't just leave them on the kitchen counter and run back to the car?"
"Blake! Absolutely not! This is our nephew's fourth birthday party, and we must attend."
"Fifth."
"What?"
"It's definitely Aiden's fifth birthday."
Weiss stops in place on the pathway to the front door. When you look back towards her all you see is a quizzical look on her face.
"Are you sure? I could've sworn it was his fourth."
"No, no. This is the fifth. Because last year I got tasked with filling all the balloons with helium, and Robyn thought it would be fun to have sparklers at the party. And I vividly remember a number four balloon turning into a giant ball of flame very close to my hair. There were many adults screaming. Lots of kids crying. And if I remember correctly, lots of muffled laughter coming from you." She laughs quietly and a smiles spreads across her face.
"That's right. I remember now." She clears her throat. "This is his fifth birthday." She opens the door of the house and the two of you step inside.
Luckily for the two of you, the kids seemed to be solely concerned with themselves and none of them wanted to wipe their sticky and grubby hands on your clothes, or spill their drinks on your shoes. And since you didn't have any children of your own to watch, you weren't obligated to take a turn babysitting as they played outside in the backyard.
And in a desperate attempt to try and keep that distance, you volunteered to help get food ready when the time came. Putting pizza, and eventually cupcakes, on paper plates was arduous and grueling work.
When the time comes for opening presents, you and Weiss chose a spot away from the crowd in the center of the room. Instead, leaning against the wall.
She leans over and says to you quietly "I guess I should've asked this way before now but, what did we get Aiden this year?"
Rolling your eyes, you cross your arms over your chest. "We got him one of those kits to dig up your own dinosaur. Because all five year olds like two things, dinosaurs and digging in the dirt."
"Okay. Perfect." She purses her lips and nods her head. "Good thinking. Also educational."
"Not really. It's literally a block of sand and dirt compressed together and it comes with a little chisel and hammer." You shrug.
When he opens the gift from the two of you, he raises it over his head and yells in excitement. And when you look over, the smile on Weiss' face is so infectious that you can't help but smile yourself.
—
A few hours later, the party has ended and you are following Weiss around with a trash bag helping clean up after the countless little minions.
"We definitely had the best gift. We are the best aunts ever. I mean, did you see the look on Aiden's face when he unwrapped that book Whitley sent him?"
"Hey, I love reading. I read all the time when I was little too."
"Not when you were five! The book didn't even have pictures in it."
"Now you just sound like Yang."
Suddenly, you feel something pulling at the hem of your shirt. Quickly turning to see if you got it caught on something, you find yourself looking down into ice blue eyes.
"Hey birthday dude, what's up?"
"I wanna tell you something. But Aunt Weiss can't hear. It's a secret."
"Oh really?" You quirk an eyebrow and glance at Weiss, who's mouth is hanging open slightly in surprise. "Well then let's go over here, so Aunt Weiss can't hear our secret."
You grab his hand and take him over to the patio table. Seemingly out of the way, but where Weiss could still hear from where you knew she was creeping behind the wall.
After you help lift him up into the chair, you kneel down in front of him so that the two of you are eye level with each other.
"Okay. So what's this big secret?"
"Actually," he draws out the word into each syllable. It must be his new word of the week. "I have two secrets." He holds up two fingers for you to see.
"Oh wow, two secrets. That's a lot."
"They are good secrets though. Not bad. So they are okay."
"As long as they are good and you don't hurt yourself or anyone else, there's nothing wrong with keeping a few secrets sometimes."
"The first one is that I think you make the best cupcakes in the whole wide world. I told my moms and they said that you made the cupcakes for my party and that I needed to say thank you. So thank you for making the best cupcakes ever for my birthday. I told all my friends that you made them."
This makes you chuckle and shake your head. And when he's finished with his thank you, Aiden looks over through the window and you see Robyn giving him the thumbs up. Which he gives right back to let her know he completed his mission.
"I'm not really sure it's a secret that I make the best cupcakes though. You and I both know that Aunt Weiss can't cook." You hear a small scoff from behind the wall, so you know she heard you. It also makes Aiden laugh. "So what's the second secret?"
"This is a big one. Big, huge secret. I haven't told anyone ever." He motions with his hand for you to come closer so he can whisper. So you lean in. "When I grow up, I want to be a curer like you."
"You want to be a curator like me when you grow up, huh?" You put your hand on your heart, acting surprised.
"My mom said that you work in a museum and you take care of all the old dinosaur bones and fossils and stuff. And all the other really old stuff. And I love all dinosaurs. Every single one. Like the triceratops and the t-rex. And the ones with really long necks. Even the really scary ones with razor sharp teeth." His enthusiasm makes you smile.
"Well, there are a lot of other things to being a curator than taking care of the dinosaur bones, you know."
As soon as you say it, the smile fades from his face and he looks defeated.
"But hey" you poke him on his knee, "maybe one day you can come to work with me and I will show you all of the stuff that I get to do. We can walk through the entire museum and look at everything. Including all the dinosaur bones. And I will even show you all the cool stuff we don't have on display. Top secret stuff. How's that sound?"
"Then I can be a cure, a cur-"
"Curator."
"A curator like you?"
"Not after your first day. There's a lot of stuff you have to learn. But I can teach you, if you want?"
"Yes please!"
"Okay Aiden, I think you've told Aunt Blake enough secrets for one day. It's time to go brush your teeth and get ready for bed." Winter appears next to the two of you and pats Aiden's shoulder.
He slowly slides off the chair and makes his way towards the house.
"Wait! I almost forgot." He turns and runs back toward you and wraps his arms around your neck and gives you a hug, which you quickly return. "Thank you for letting me tell you my secrets, Aunt Blake."
"You got it dude, any time." You pat him on the back when he runs off.
—
Later that night, when you walk down the stone pathway in front of Winter and Robyn's house toward your car, Weiss hooks her elbow with yours.
"You know what?"
"What?"
"I think you missed your calling."
"Oh yeah? And what would that be?"
"Blake Belladonna, kid whisperer and world's best secret keeper."
"Oh come on, really? He tells me one secret, and suddenly I'm the kid whisperer?"
"Let's be real, you folded for that kid like a lawn chair. Miss 'I hate all kids, they are dirty and gross and yucky."
"So what? He's our nephew. If he wants to talk to me about dinosaurs and working at a museum, who am I to dissuade him?"
"Fair point."
"Or maybe I have discovered my true calling, as the cool aunt. And you are just jealous that I'm the cool one." You tease, knowing Weiss would never be bothered by it.
"I am not! And there are plenty of other fun kinds of aunts that I could totally be like…"
"The wine aunt."
"Yes! Exactly. That sounds great. I volunteer to be the wine aunt. I've been practicing."
"There is one thing we will never have to worry about though."
"And what is that?"
"As long as Whitley keeps sending books, we will always be the favorites."
"That's true, the competition is very slim."
