RachelsBirthday

“Dad!” Jerry burst onto the scene in a full run, landing with a thud against Harvey’s stomach.

“Oh!” Harvey yelled out, grabbing onto his son for a quick hug. “What are you up to, little dude?” he asked with his best parental face.

“Don’t worry Dad. I didn’t tell Rachel about the presents in my room.”

Harvey shot a look over at Rachel, then looked back down at Jerry. “You didn’t until just now.” He started tickling Jerry in punishment. Rachel’s birthday had been the perfect distraction for Jerry. Harvey had picked Jerry up from preschool that afternoon and they had gone on a whirlwind shopping spree which had significantly lightened his son’s mood. When Harvey looked back at Rachel again, she was smiling.

“Did someone say presents?” Rachel asked as she looked down at Jerry. “I’ll bet I can find them,” she teased and the young boy immediately took off to defend their hiding place.

“They’re not in my closet!” Jerry screamed as he sped down the hallway.

Rachel laughed as she watched Jerry pinging off the walls, then his door jam as he raced to protect his booty. By the time she caught up with him, he had gathered several small, brightly wrapped packages into his arms and was smiling broadly. “Are those all for me?” she asked with exaggerated surprise.

“Yep and I picked ‘em all out myself.”

“Well then you’ll just have to help me unwrap them.” She knelt down on the floor next to Jerry.

“Here. This one first,” he insisted, his eyes dancing with expectation.

“Wow. This one is awfully pretty.” She held the box up for closer inspection. “Such shiny paper and a beautiful bow.” She tried to keep a serious expression on her face as she looked back at Jerry. “Maybe we should be careful opening this one.” She pretended to think about it for a moment. “Nah.” Jerry’s mouth dropped open when Rachel tore into the box, shredding the paper and tossing it over her shoulder. Rachel smiled mischievously. “So are you going to help me or not?”

Within a matter of seconds, Rachel and Jerry ripped into every single package. They laughed at the mess they had created, tossing the paper around for a few seconds, then Jerry crawled into her lap. “I got this to keep you warm,” Jerry explained as he wrapped a silk scarf around her neck that wasn’t at all suitable for cold weather. “And this ‘cause Dad says your eyes sparkle when you laugh.”

Rachel felt her heart dance in her chest as Jerry held up the large pair of silver star earrings. Spiraled wires dipped in glitter shot off in every direction around a multitude of stars. They were the wildest pair of earrings she had ever seen and she couldn’t remember a time when she was more touched by a gift. “They are absolutely beautiful. I’m going to wear them the next time your dad and I go out.” When she saw how happy Jerry was that she liked his gift, she changed her mind. “You know what? I can’t wait that long. I’m going to put them on right now.” When his eyes lit up at her decision, she felt her throat tighten. Jerry was such a sweet child and she felt blessed to be a part of his life. “So what else do we have here?” she asked while changing her earrings.

Jerry started digging through the papers once more and came up with an empty picture frame. “Dad said that we can get a picture of you and me and Dad to put in here. But we didn’t have one yet so it’s empty.” He dismissed it as unimportant as he handed it to her, then started searching the wrapping paper once more.

Rachel’s eyes glistened as she looked over at Harvey. He had slipped in amidst all of the clatter and leaned against the dresser. She was filled with the warmth of belonging. For the first time in her life, she had a family. She knew that she should be angry with Harvey for practically accusing Samuel of manufacturing OxyContin illegally, but she was overwhelmed with the thoughtfulness of each gift.

“Here it is!” Jerry announced as he held up a tie-dyed t-shirt. “Dad said you didn’t have anything tide dye at all,” he said with astonishment. He thought that everyone had something tie-dyed.

She smiled at his pronunciation as she slipped her arms around his tiny waist. “Well I do now.”

“Maybe we can all wear our tide dyed shirt when we get our picture taken,” he suggested.

Rachel saw Harvey cover his mouth to keep from laughing at the suggestion. “What a great idea,” she returned. “Why don’t we get it done this weekend?” She had expected to see another flash of happiness on his dirt-streaked face, but his eyes darted away. When Jerry grew quiet, her mind raced to figure out what she had said wrong.

“Do you think we can give one to Mom?” he asked shyly.

Her stomach twisted in knots, but she put a reassuring smile on her face. “Sure sweetie. In fact, we’ll make your dad buy the biggest picture package we can get so that we can give everybody one.” She could swear that she could actually see relief in the small boy’s face. When he went back to digging through the papers, her eyes darted back to Harvey’s once more. She was grateful when he gave her a slight nod in approval. “There’s more?” she asked, trying to get back in the spirit of gift giving.

Jerry handed her a mesh bag filled with an assortment of decorative soaps. “This is so you don’t smell bad,” he said, then went back to digging.

Harvey couldn’t stop his laugh then, but he quickly covered his mouth again so that he wouldn’t interrupt the touching scene. Jerry finally found the last item still tucked away in the gift bag. He pulled the Velcro covered mitts and ball out himself as he shifted so that he could lean back against Rachel.

Harvey drew in a sharp breath as Rachel pressed her cheek against Jerry’s forehead. That was the picture that he wanted to remember. They were the two people that he loved most in the world. They were his family. He smiled again when she pulled back quickly because the stars on her ridiculously large earrings poked Jerry in the head.

“You throw this ball,” Jerry explained to Rachel as he tossed the Velcro stripped ball into the air and caught it with one of the mitts. “Then it sticks on this thing. See? Maybe you and me and Dad can take them to the park, maybe, and we can throw it. But there’s only two of ‘em so we’ll have to take turns.”

“You are just full of great ideas tonight. Now all we need is some cake and ice cream and my birthday will be perfect.”

“Oh shoot!” Harvey said as he stood. “I left it out in the Cruiser.”

“I’ll get it!” Jerry jumped up and was on his way.

“All right. Be careful,” he called after his son who was already out the bedroom door. He stepped over piles of paper to give Rachel a hand getting up. He hesitated for a moment simply to gaze at her face. “Happy birthday McCabe.” He brushed the back of his fingers across her cheek.

“I hope you didn’t buy any candles for that cake because I’ve already got everything that I’ve ever wished for.” She was so captivate by his penetrating stare that she had to remind herself to breath. “You are the most amazing man I have ever met.”

“Ditto lady,” he whispered in return, then kissed her. It was a light kiss, a mere brush of his lips against hers, but it was seductive in the promises that it held for the night ahead. The slamming of the front door brought him back to reality with a snap. Jerry had already gone outside. “I’d better make sure he’s okay.”

She sighed contentedly as she looked down at the mess around her feet, then started to clean. After she gathered up her gifts to make sure they were all accounted for, she walked to the kitchen to throw away the remains of the packages. Harvey and Jerry were standing side by side with their heads tilted as they stared at the lopsided cake sitting on the counter.

“Why did you get a crooked one?” Jerry asked his dad.

Harvey looked down at him. “It didn’t look like that when I bought it,” he returned defensively. “Here.” He gave Jerry the candle that he had bought for the cake, then he picked his son up. Jerry carefully pushed the candle in, but the icing was frozen. Unfortunately, the ice cream between the layers of cake wasn’t and oozed out the sides at the added pressure.

Once again father and son stared at the ice cream cake. “Is it suppose to do that?” Jerry asked in innocence.

“I don’t think so.”

Rachel couldn’t hold it in any longer and broke out in laughter. Harvey and Jerry followed suit soon after. “I think we should put that in the freezer until later,” she suggested once she had her giggles under control. “How about if we order a...”

“Pizza!” Jerry yelled when the doorbell rang.

Rachel stared at Harvey with her mouth hanging open. “Okay, now you’re starting to scare me. Do you come from a long line of Gypsies or something?”

“Yeah. My head has finally cleared from the air at all of those Dead concerts. Now all these hidden powers are starting to emerge,” he teased in return as he reached into his pocket for the necessary cash. “Don’t get your hopes up because you’re not getting any. You and I are going out to eat tonight.” He started out of the kitchen. “The pizza is for Jerry and the sitter.”

“Robin won’t miss one piece,” she cajoled him as she followed quickly on his heels. Harvey had to slap her hands away when she tried to take the box from him, then he practically dropped the box when she grabbed him suggestively.

“Hey, hey, hey.” He moved out of her reach quickly.

She followed him back into the kitchen with a smug look on her face. “What if I tell you that’s my birthday wish?” she asked.

“I’d have to point out that you haven’t made your wish yet because your cake is sitting in the freezer so, technically, you’re outta luck McCabe.” He tossed a slice of pizza onto a paper plate, then handed it to Jerry waiting quietly at his side. “Go on in the living room with that and pick out a video.” He watched to make sure that Jerry was out of sight before wrapping his arm around Rachel’s waist and pulling her roughly against him. “Now, if you want to negotiate, let’s hear your terms.” The doorbell chimed again to signal the babysitter’s arrival. “Oh. I’m sorry. You’re time’s up,” he teased. “But thanks for playing and better luck next time.”