“Let me go grab the boxes,” I said.
“I’ve got them,” Miller said. He headed out to my car and brought back in the bakery boxes, somehow balancing them and Jacob. And Jacob was also suddenly wearing a shirt.
I had no idea how Miller did it. I swore it had taken me half an hour to get that shirt on Jacob. And Jacob didn’t even look upset about it now. Miller was so good with him.
“Are you excited for your birthday, champ?” Miller said.
“Yes. Cuppycakes!”
Miller kissed the top of his head. “I’ll be home in a few hours, okay?”
“Go ahead,” Alice said. “It’s a big day. You only turn one, once, right Jacob?”
Jacob nodded his head before hiding under Miller’s arm.
We tried to get Jacob to wave goodbye to Alice but he was very happy in his hiding spot.
When we got home, Jacob immediately took his shirt off. Then his shorts. I caught him at the last second so he couldn’t undo his diaper.
“Sweet boy, please keep that on.”
He kept his hands on the waistband.
“Jacob.”
“My birthday.”
I laughed and looked up at Miller. “Were you a nudist when you were little too?”
“Me? I thought he got it from you.”
I sighed. “Yeah. I think maybe he did.”
Jacob unstrapped one side.
I mean…it was his birthday.
He unstrapped the other side and his diaper slid to the floor. He squealed in delight and started shaking his hips. “Dance. Dance!”
He’d quickly picked up on our tradition of dancing when we cooked dinner together. Sometimes he’d sit on the counter and clap as Miller and I danced. Other times he’d want to join in. Maybe he got the nudity thing from me. But he got this from both of us.
I grabbed one of his hands and Miller grabbed the other and we all started dancing. The three of us danced around the room, mimicking Jacob’s stellar dance moves. I wasn’t sure how long we danced, but eventually Jacob stopped. And he scrunched his mouth up.
Oh no.I knew that face. He was about to…
“Bathroom emergency,” Miller said and grabbed Jacob under the arms. He sprinted toward the bathroom and I hoped they made it in time.
I laughed to myself as I picked up Jacob’s discarded clothes. I knew it was dinner time, but Jacob had been so excited for cupcakes all day. I put icing on the rest of the cupcakes and plopped a candle in one. From other bathroom emergencies, I knew Jacob got embarrassed. He was a very private little person. This would cheer him up.
I lit the candle as I heard his little feet running back into the room.
He stopped right in front of me. “Oopsies.” He blinked up at me with his big brown eyes. They were rimmed with red and I knew he’d been crying.
“It’s okay, sweet boy. Oopsies happen.” Although, maybe a little less for children who wore clothes. I leaned down and lifted him up, letting him sit in his preferred place…the middle of the kitchen counter. “Do you know what makes oopsies better? Birthday cupcakes!”
“Cuppycakes!” He tried to reach out and grab the one that was lit.
“We have to sing. And then we can all blow out the candle together, okay?”
