"happy birthday to camille, hudson and shawn... happy birthday to you." we all sing as the trio blew out their candles.
their birthdays have been celebrated together since my dad left since camille and hudson's are only a week apart from shawns.
"present time!" i announced, grabbing their presents. my mom was able to stop working for a few hours to celebrate with us. veronica and cal were here as well as a few of the kids closest friends.
"here you go." i said handing camille and hudson each their bag with their ticket in them.
"this is from colby and i." i told them.
"oh my god! no way!?" camille yelled, tears falling from her eyes... and that's when i noticed she was holding two tickets.
"oh sick! thank you guys so much." hudson said, also holding two tickets.
"you're kidding me? this isn't real. nope." camille said in disbelief.
"what is it?" shawn asked.
"front row tickets to post malone and swae lee!" camille said, jumping up to hug colby and i.
"your first concert! you'll have so much fun." my mom told them.
"thank you guys." camille and hudson said in unison.
"of course! we love you guys." i said hugging them back. i noticed camille whisper something into colbys ear but couldn't tell what it was.
"shawns turn! this is also from colby and i." i smiled, hanging him the bag. i could tell he was lowkey pissed that colby was here.
"oh my god... no way?! a maple leafs game? thanks!" he smiled, hugging me and throwing a nod in colbys direction.
"did you see where it's at?" colby asked him, making him look back at the ticket.
"you're kidding? we're going back home?" he asked.
"you, colby and i are going for a weekend." i smiled.
"thanks guys." he smiled, hugging me and then colby... which made me smile.
my mom got each of them a card and somehow managed to get them each a little gift. and then i gave each of the siblings $5 to buy something for each of the three birthdays.
veronica and cal got them each something and then their friends brought them some stuff as well.
-
"do you boys have your passports?" i asked as we sat in colbys car to drive to the airport.
"yes mom." colby joked. we were heading to canada for the weekend. despite my many protests, colby convinced me to call off work for the weekend and fly to canada with him because "it would be awkward if it were just the two of them." so i decided to come. colby even hired someone to watch halle and dylan while we were gone.
colby tried to make some conversation with shawn... and it lasted longer than normal, however it soon fell to an awkward silence again.
"colb, what did camille whisper to you when we were opening presents?" i asked.
"oh, it was nothing." he played it off, however i knew he was lying.
"oh just tell me you big baby." i laughed.
"she just said that she knew i bought them their presents." he eventually said.
"well i think everyone knows i can't afford $1000 worth of post malone tickets. by the way, i'm still pissed at you for getting 4 tickets instead of 2." i admitted.
"i just thought they'd have more fun if they could each take a friend rather than just each other." he told me, making me smile.
"wait, colby, you bought everyone their presents?" shawn asked from the backseat. i normally saved up for birthdays however i don't know how anyone would have expected
me to buy tickets, plane tickets, hotels, etc.
"uh, yeah... adelaide contributed as well." he told my brother.
"that's really cool of you, man." he said from the back seat.
"it's honestly nothing." colby said.
"to them, this is everything." shawn replied, making me realize how much this did actually mean to them.
"have you ever been to a professional hockey game?" colby asked shawn.
"i went with my dad a few times... before he turned into a shitty person, you know?" shawn said.
-
we finally landed in toronto... the flight was nearly unbearable. i was shoved in between colby and shawn since we got the tickets late and couldn't get better seats.
we got an uber to our hotel. colby had gotten us a suite so there was a common area and then two bedrooms off of it. colby and i took the bigger one.
"okay! so we have six hours to do whatever we want before you two have to head to the game." i told them. "is there anything you two would like to do?" i asked.
"i think we should go get food." shawn suggested.
"same. i'm starving." colby admitted.
"okay then... what are you guys in the mood for?" i asked.
"we should go somewhere where you went when you lived here." colby suggested.
"i have the perfect place." i smiled.
after dinner, the boys headed off to the game and i headed to see a few of my friends from when i lived here.
-
colby;
"so do you think you'll marry my sister?" shawn asked me, making me choke on the sip of water i was drinking.
"what?" i choked out, making him let out a small laugh.
"like could you see yourself marrying her?" he asked me again.
"i think i will eventually marry her, obviously if she wants that." i replied.
"i think she feels the same way." he admitted to me.
"yeah?" i asked.
"yeah. she 'had no time for boys' until she met you. i think she just didn't have the time for people who didn't deserve it. she clearly thinks differently about you." he told me.
"i'm in love with her, in all honestly. i'd do anything to make her life easier." i admitted to shawn.
"get her out of LA." he told me.
"what?" i asked.
"she doesn't like LA. she won't be living her life until she's away. all she does is work and take care of our family. i'm starting full time so we'll have way more than enough to keep everything going. if you want to make her life easier and better, get her out of california." he told me, making me think for a few moments.
"i don't think i could convince her to leave you guys." i told him.
"give it time. i know that she wants, more than anything, to move back to toronto and to be a mom herself. she's given up everything for our family... hell she practically raised us, even when our dad was around. i can't even imagine how good of a mom she'll be." he said.
"she's the most selfless person ever. literally the only time she accepts anything from me, it's if it benefits you guys." i told him.
"she really needed someone like you. i speak for my whole family when i say that we appreciate you being with her."
