Run, Girl (If You Can)

The first person to arrive was Jennica (with Valentina in tow), who told her friends she was pregnant with a huge grin on her face. The three of them squealed together over the news for a good five minutes. It hadn't taken the Singletons long to get pregnant at all after she finished her musical.

Jennica confessed that they started trying before the musical's run even ended since morning sickness didn't hit immediately. She and Cameron had both really wanted to start expanding their family.

Since she was about three months along now, the Hale twins and baby Singleton would be slightly less than two years apart. It would be nice for them to have a built in friend fairly close in age, especially once they all got old enough to really start playing together.

They were still discussing this when the next group arrived. It was everyone who worked at Hale Investments, minus Roger, who had gone to pick up Alice.

Aiden was ribbing Cameron about something but shut up as soon as he saw the women. It made Keeley even more curious what they were saying but she was instantly sidetracked by her husband's 'I'm home' kiss.

"Hey, Aaron," she said with a smile as he slung an arm around her waist. "How was your day?"

"It was alright. I've been looking forward to cake since about 10 AM though."

"Of course you have."

This guy's sweet tooth sometimes could be surprising. Though it was only for things she had made personally. He was totally whipped.

The intercom buzzed a moment later. "Roger Clark, Alice Wheatley, and Robert Hall are here to see you, Mrs. Hale. Shall I send them up?"

"Yes, thank you!" Keeley responded.

She tried to head into the kitchen to move the food out of the warming drawer underneath the oven but Aaron's arms stopped her. She urged him forward with her. This needed to be done. Why was he always so clingy?

As much as she griped about it, she secretly enjoyed the attention. It made her feel loved. She had gotten used to walking with Aaron's arms around her.

Once everybody made it upstairs, she and Aaron buckled the babies into their high chairs and gave them some finely chopped steamed vegetables and leftover unseasoned penne since they were too little to handle much flavoring. Seeing how they reacted to the birthday cake would be interesting since they had never had actual sugar before.

Keeley had seen pictures of her and Kaleb getting cake all over their faces on their first birthdays. She was curious to see how her children would go about it.

Some of the people here didn't know her father so he was busy introducing himself as she began serving up the pasta bake. Everyone dug in eagerly, focusing more on food than conversation.

Little chats cropped up here and there as the meal progressed. Keeley noticed that Roger was particularly attentive to Alice. She hadn't figured out whether or not there was something definitive between them yet but the chemistry was definitely there.

As far as she knew, the divorce hadn't been finalized yet but Alice's lawyer was optimistic things would be taken care of soon. They had a court date set and everything. Taking it to court wouldn't have even been necessary if Brock Kelly wasn't such a greedy pig. He didn't want to play fair dividing up the assets.

A random, fleeting thought crossed Keeley's mind. If she had lived long enough to sign those divorce papers in her first life, Aaron wouldn't have been nitpicky like that. He probably would have given her more money than she could ever feasibly spend and shipped her off to another country to keep her safe.

Working together against his enemies in this life had been tiring and stressful but she had been so glad he was trusting her and treating her as a real partner this time. He had kept her safe and in the loop; those things weren't mutually exclusive.

She shook those thoughts away as everyone finished eating. It was time for cake and presents. Kaleb and Violet weren't able to open the wrapping paper by themselves so their parents had to help a little.

They received so many toys Keeley hadn't even seen before. Did everyone team up to raid the toddler section of a toy store or what? It would definitely help though; the twins got tired of their toys quickly so she had to rotate them out every week with another set to keep things interesting. They had very short memories at this age.

Once the presents were done, the babies were put back in their high chairs and they weren't terribly happy about it because the new toys beckoned to them from the living room floor. It was useless for one-year-olds to try and blow out candles but the birthday song was sung anyway before slices of cake were put on each baby's high chair tray.

Aaron had taken their shirts off, anticipating a huge mess, before pulling out his phone to record whatever they did to the cake. Kaleb, always the more adventurous between the two, dug his hands in first. He got a bunch on his face while trying to aim for his mouth but once he managed to taste it his eyes went wide and he let out a delighted shriek and banged on the tray.

Violet was curious what all the fuss was about and tried some too. She didn't shriek but she did shovel a bunch of cake in her mouth before getting even more in her hair.

Everyone laughed at how much cake was getting everywhere but Valentina was particularly amused.

"Aww, I could watch them eat cake all day! They're so cute and funny. I'm really going to miss them when I leave for my residency."

She had been accepted as a family medicine resident at a hospital in Connecticut and would start shortly after graduating in June. It was nearly a three hour drive to make it back to New York City and she wouldn't have a car. Her friends would have to come to her if they ever wanted to see her.

"I've never been to Connecticut but I've heard it's nice there. We'll have to come visit," Keeley said lightly though her heart was heavy.

It had been hard enough seeing Valentina since they stopped being roommates. Living further away would make it even worse.

With one of her best friends moving away, it was definitely time to branch out and make more friends. Even if she did get weird looks in those Mommy and Me groups.