Guilt clenched deep within Amanda’s belly as she’d awoken to Angelo’s little voice. “Mummy, mummy, it’s my birthday!” he was saying. It had taken Amanda a moment to realise what he was saying, but when it registered in her sleepy brain, she sat up abruptly. For a moment, the shock was clear on her face, but she quickly had to correct her expression. She’d forced a smile onto her lips and said, “Of course it is! You’re five today.” But mentally, she was cringing. She’d looked to Niels’ side and discovered him gone, but soon he stepped out of the en suite, a towel around his waist. “Look,” Amanda had told him. “Our birthday boy is awake bright and early.” There’d been no special celebrations that day, despite it being quite an important milestone. The night before had been hellish, with Elia just being discharged from the hospital after being rushed to the ER. In the year before, her untimely birth had stolen the attention from Emi’s 8th birthday, and now her newest crisis had totally distracted Amanda from Angelo’s 5th. What kind of mother was she, forgetting her son’s birthday? She was still being hard on herself days later as they prepared for a small party. There wasn't anyone else in town aside from the Barthels, but they were more than happy to come over for some cake and ice-cream and of course there was Lucie and Rhea to offer plenty of entertainment for Angelo. Niels found Amanda in the bedroom, her eyes wet with tears. She asked the question she’d asked countless times since Angelo’s forgotten birthday. “How could I have forgotten. How could we have forgotten?” She casted an accusatory glance in Niels’ direction. But the blame remained on her. She was the one in the family who remembered all of the important dates. Not Niels. Her. And she’d failed epically. “I think I’m losing my mind,” she told Niels. “I really am.” Niels wrapped his arms around her though she wasn’t in much of a mood to be hugged. “Baby… it happens.” “Not to me,” Amanda retorted. It was a clear indication that the conversation was over. Yet somehow, she managed to pull her act together and return to the little party in the living room. Angelo was more than happy. He’d never noticed that his parents forgot his birthday, nor did he care that it hadn’t been celebrated on the day of. He was just happy to be five. Despite Amanda’s dampened mood, at least she knew one thing: she had the best 5-year-old in the world. Comments
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Amanda at a GlanceNames: Amanda Pontremoli, Amanda van Loon Archives
August 2017
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