"Whose birthday is it today?" I cooed rocking Jack in my arms. I could not believe that he is already a year old.
"He still up?" Caleb asked walking into the nursery.
"I thought you were working late?" I asked placing Jackson back in his crib.
"I came home to see this little guy," Caleb told me.
"What about me?" I asked.
"You too," he smiled. "It's just that, you know, it's Jackson's birthday."
"Well I'm going to go make sure everything's ready for his party tomorrow," I said. I walked downstairs to find my mom cleaning up in the kitchen.
"Hey," she smiled looking up at me.
"Can I ask you something," I said taking a seat at the counter.
"What's up?" she asked with a look of concern.
"When you and Dad split up," I began, "were there any signs?"
"Are you worried about you an Caleb?" she asked.
"I don't know," I sighed. "It's just been so different lately. He works all the time and now I barely see him. He just feels really distant."
"I don't think he's having an affair, if that's what you're thinking," my mom assured me.
"No, no," I answered quickly. "I am just worried that we're not communicating. I didn't even think of an affair."
"Sweetie," my mom comforted me. "I never meant to put that idea in your head. I just...you know that Caleb is not your father."
"I know," I breathed. "I just need to figure out how to fix this before it gets worse."
"Why don't the two of you go to one of those events you're always getting invited to," she said. "You get a hundred invitations a month. Take Caleb to one of them. Like a date night. I'll watch the baby."
"Thanks," I smiled giving her a hug. "Thank you."
"I love you, sweetie," she told me. "I just want you to be happy."
"He is getting so big!" Aria gushed taking Jackson out of my arms. We were sitting in the yard which my mom helped decorate for Jack's birthday.
"Look at your kids," I told her. "How old are they now?"
"Scott is six and Harper's four," she smiled bouncing Jack in her lap.
"Is he in school yet?" I asker her.
"Yeah," she replied. "Ezra enrolled him at Brentwood last year. It has an amazing English program."
"You would," I laughed.
"Hey guys!" Spencer ventured over toward us holding a glass of champagne.
"Hi," I smiled at her. "I'm glad you came."
"Me too," Emily chimed in. "The four of us haven't gotten together like this in months."
"I have to tell you guys something," Spencer smiled.
"What?" I asked.
"We set a date," she gushed. "January 10."
"That's almost a year from now," I reminded her.
"I know," she breathed. "I just need time to plan the wedding."
"You know what," I held me glass in the air. "Let's have a toast!"
"To Spencer!" they all chimed in. We burst into a fit of giggles during which I took the opportunity to grab Jack from Aria's arms again before he started drooling all over her dress.
"Aunt Hanna!" Harper came running over to me.
"Hi sweetie," I smiled. "What's up?"
"I want to go in the pool," she said.
"We can't," Aria told her. "You didn't bring a suit."
Harper was on the verge of tears and Aria quickly scooped her up before she threw a tantrum while Spencer followed her inside.
"She is way too cute," Emily smiled at the toddler in Aria's arms.
"I love that little girl," I laughed.
"Maybe Jackson could use a little sister," Emily teased.
"Do not let Caleb hear you," I warned. "He has baby fever. It's not even funny."
"My bad," she giggled as my mom walked over to grab Jackson.
"Let me take him," she told me. "You need a break."
"Thanks," I smiled handing him to her. I turned to Em. "Do you want to come get a drink with me?"
"Yes!" she laughed. We walked inside and poured ourselves a drink before joining Aria and Spencer in the living room.
"Where's Harper?" I asked.
"She's over it," Aria replied. "Ezra brought her stuffed animal and she went to go play with the other kids."
"So where's Samara?" Spencer asked Emily.
"This one," she pointed to me, "has her working weekends."
"No I don't," I answered. "I was just at the office this morning and she wasn't there."
"What?" Emily was obviously shocked.
"I had to pick up the cake from the bakery next door," I explained. "I popped into my office to pick up an outfit and no one was there."
"That's weird," Emily said. "She said she was going to be there all day."
"I might be wrong," I said quickly. "She's probably just getting some more designs in and went to lunch when I got to the office. I'm sure she's there right now."
"Can I borrow your keys?" Emily asked. "I need to find out what she's up to."
"Yeah," I breathed. I dug through my purse and pulled out the key to my office. "Let me know how it turns out."
"Okay," Emily said taking the key and running toward the door.
"I hope it works out for her," Aria sighed.
"Me too," I said.
We got back to the party and I went around greeting the rest of the guests. It wasn't long before my mom put Jack down for a nap and the other kids followed suit giving us adults some time to ourselves. I was opening another bottle of wine when I got a phone call from Emily.
"Hello?" I asked picking up the receiver.
"She's not here," Emily told me. "I looked everywhere and then I went home. She's not there either."
"It's gonna be fine," I told her. "I'm just going to say goodbye to everyone and I can be at your place in a half hour."
"No, don't," she said. "I'll be okay."
"You sure?" I asked one last time.
"Yeah," she replied. "Enjoy your party."
AN: If you haven't noticed, I'm skipping ahead a few months each chapter because nothing interesting is happening in between and I want this story to cover a few years without getting too long. If you think I missed something, let me know, because I am taking suggestions for one-shots to be paired with this story :)