Page 101 of Laws of Love
“Light blue,” Yasmine answered. It made sense to Aiva since it would match the cake Knox had gotten for her.
Aiva looked through the options, finding a sky blue and a turquoise jersey in Yasmine’s size. She pulled them out and held them up for Yasmine to look at. The little girl gave them serious consideration, cupping her chin with her thumb and forefinger as she thought, and Aiva couldn’t help but smile. Yasmine pointed to the sky blue one, and Aiva put the other one back.
“Now we need to find the same one for you two. Oh, can we still get Kaley one even though she’s sick and can’t come? We can still wear them together another time,” Yasmine stated.
“Sure, sweetie,” Aiva responded. She looked through the rack and found one in her little sister’s size. Kandice had called Aiva the night before and told her she was sick and wouldn’t be able to attend the party. Yasmine had been a bit bummed when Aiva told her, but she promised the two could get together to work in their garden or for a playdate when Kaley felt better.
“What do you want to wear with these?” Knox asked as they headed to find them the same jersey.
“Black bottoms, black tops under the blue, and blue shoes!” Yasmine announced excitedly.
If Knox hadn’t told Aiva the place the party would be held was well shaded, she was sure they’d overheat with the amount of black Yasmine wanted them to wear. Even if it weren’t, it was what she wanted, and Aiva doubted either of them would try to talk her out of it.
They found the jerseys, grabbing the sizes they needed, and Aiva grabbed an extra one while Knox and Yasmine discussed where to go for lunch when they finished shopping.
Once they checked out, Yasmine led them to a shoe store, and immediately found shoes that matched the top she’d picked out. They got the correct sizes in the sneakers. Yasmine again, wanting to get Kaley a pair, paid, and left the store. They hadn’t bothered looking for black pants since they each already had some.
They ended up at a pizza buffet with an arcade for lunch, and as they ate, Yasmine chatted excitedly about her birthday party the next afternoon. She seemed most excited to play the different games with her friends, and seeing her cake for the first time.
When they finished eating, Knox took Yasmine to the arcade for her to play a few games, and Aiva hung back at the table for a few moments, taking her phone out to send a text. She didn’t wait for a response, because she probably wouldn’t get one, as she slipped the phone back into her crossbody and joined them in the arcade.
They were playing Skee-ball, and Aiva grabbed one of the tokens Knox had sitting on the game and went to the nearbyPac-Manmachine. It was one of her favorite classic games. She’d been playing for a few minutes when Yasmine approached her.
“Can I play with you?”
“Of course you can,” Aiva responded, picking the little girl up and placing her on her hip. “You know how to play?”
“Yes, I have to eat the pebbles and stay away from the blobs,” Yasmine responded, and Aiva allowed her to take over the controls.
They played for several minutes, Yasmine clearing the level Aiva had been on, but getting caught on the next one. She asked Knox for another token, and they started the game again. This time when she was caught after a couple of levels with a little “oh man”, they went to play a few other games before they left. They didn’t have any other plans for the day, other than watching movies Yasmine had picked out and baking homemade cookies.
The rest of the day would be relaxed before the chaotic fun that came along with a child’s birthday party the following afternoon.
The party had just started, and most of the kids were already in attendance. Knox hadn’t expected everyone to be on time, but he wasn’t surprised. Children enjoyed carnivals, and parents, the ones who weren’t staying, were all for a free babysitter for a few hours. He, Yasmine, and Aiva had shown up thirty minutes early to ensure everything was set up to his daughter’s liking. He’d shown her the mock-up the coordinator sent over, but he wasn’t sure Yasmine had understood it completely. It was her special day, and he wanted her to enjoy it.
They greeted her former classmates and parents, gave out their bags with vouchers, and pointed out the gift table where Aiva was. Within ten minutes of the party starting, all the kids from her kindergarten class except two and the kids from his parent’s neighborhood had arrived. Yasmine ran off to play with the other kids, and Knox walked over to Aiva.
The plan was to allow the kids to partake in everything the carnival offered for a couple of hours and then have cake and open presents before allowing them to finish the party playing again until it ended.
“More parents than I thought stayed,” Aiva said as she rearranged the presents.
“Who doesn’t enjoy a carnival? We’re all big kids at heart,” Knox responded. He could admit it was nice to have so many of them in attendance. However, his parents and friends were coming to celebrate and help oversee the kids as needed.
“Your parents are here,” Aiva informed, and Knox turned his attention to the entrance.
“How did you know those were my parents?”
“Aside from them showing up without a child, and seeing pictures of them at your place, your dad literally said copy-paste.”
Knox chuckled as his parents spotted them and headed over. Greetings and introductions went around, and his mother fussed over how pretty Aiva was as his father shook his head at her gushing, but he teased Knox with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
“I’m assuming you all are dressed alike,” his mother stated.
“We are,” Aiva responded. “Yas wanted us to.”
“I’ll have to be sure to get a picture of the three of you,” his mother replied.
After a few minutes of conversing, his parents left their gift for Yasmine on the table and went to the water balloon game she was playing to greet her. Wolfe, Ezra, and Coen trickled in over the next few minutes, greeting them and putting their presents on the table.
