Niels smiled at his wife lovingly that morning. Their last few days had been filled with grief. The both of them had lost another part of their family, albeit not connected by blood, and Niels knew Amanda was blaming herself for this. No matter how much Niels told her, she kept on blaming herself. And in truth, this was a tragedy. Poor little Maë must have suffered so badly, not to mention Daphne. But today was a different day. Today was the day they would celebrate Amanda’s birthday. And for her birthday, Niels had arranged a few things. He wanted to make this day a happy day, a day on which Amanda could relax and see that her life was more than just sadness. And to show her that, Niels would spare no expense, so to say. The day passed as it usually did, with Amanda being only partially there. It was obvious her mind wasn’t too much in the apartment they had rented, but their little man, Nicco, always managed to touch her spirit. And watching Amanda and Nicco together was just too cute. It always made Niels chuckle, the way Amanda talked to him and he would answer with the words he knew. It was adorable. And then, it was time for cake. Niels grinned as he had their third child, Eliana, run to Amanda and pull her into the living room. Once Amanda arrived there, Niels, Emilia and Angelo began to sing. Niels could see a faint smile appear on his wife’s face when she looked at the cake. “We’ve been making this, with a little help from the baking master in the family…” Niels said, winking at his wife when she approached her birthday cake. “But you deserve it. It’s pink because… It’s your cake, and pink was your colour. Inside of it, there’s some delicious chocolate!” He winked at Emi, who was smiling brightly because her mum seemed to like the cake. After the cake was eaten, resulting in a bit of a mess with Nicco, who still liked smearing cake all over his face, the kids returned to their normal play time. Amanda went to put their youngest to bed for a nap, and Niels followed her. It always made Niels smile, the way Amanda put the kids to bed. He noticed her staring down at Nicco, their precious baby boy. Niels had an idea of the things that might be in her thoughts, so he walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her from behind. “Hi honey,” he whispered after kissing her cheek, “How are you doing?” Amanda shrugged, her eyes focussed on the little man in his bed. Only the gentle kisses Niels pressed to her cheeks sometimes made her smile a little bit. Niels winked at her when she turned her head a bit towards him before claiming a soft kiss. “You should go to our room baby, take a break. You deserve that much.” He smiled, but when he noticed she was about to complain, he put his index finger on her lips. “Don’t you dare say no, amore mio… I can handle the kids. Now, let me escort you there.” He grinned, taking Amanda’s hand in his and walking her back to their room. In the room, he had placed a small flyer on Amanda’s pillow, and he was pretty sure she would see it straight away after entering, or at least after she had reached the bed. When Amanda noticed, she looked at Niels with big eyes. Niels could tell she was a bit confused. “That’s where we’re going tonight, love,” he said, “I’ve already arranged everything. Zelda will be here around 19.00 to pick up the kids, and after that, the night is ours, and we can go see this show.”
Amanda smiled, some gratitude lighting up her troubled face. “Thank you, amore mio,” she whispered, hugging him tightly. Niels winked at Amanda. “Hey, this only happens a year, let’s make the best out of it,” he replied, gently caressing her cheek. Hopefully, today would be the start of a happy time.
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Niels at a glanceName: Niels van Loon Archives
September 2017
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