Epilogue

"How does everything look?" I stepped back from the "tablescape" we'd created together. This was the first time we would be hosting a play party in our home. Since becoming regulars at Chained, we'd been invited to a number of other member's homes. Some of those were for barbecues or various other types of parties, but more often than not they were play dates for a few or a bunch of littles and their mommies and daddies.

It was entirely different from club events where they had so many activities planned and a staff to vacuum up all the glitter and mop up all the paint. Our friends would generally set a theme and keep things a little less messy. But fun. Just so much fun.

We had a lot to live up to.

"It's perfect." Lane teached for a bunny-shaped cracker from the bowl in the center of the table then pulled his hand back.

"You can eat one." I grabbed a bunch. "Let me see your hand."

He extended it, palm up, and I poured the cheesy crunchy things into it. "My friends will like these. They won't even know they are good for them." Unlike most of the shaped treats we'd found, these were actually a little more on the healthy side.

I ate one myself. "Nope, they taste just the same as the other ones you like." For our bunny party, Lane had wanted to be true to the theme in every way. We had a veggie platter with a big bowl of ranch dip surrounded by carrots, celery, sugar snap peas, and radishes as well as cherry tomatoes. All the vegetable pictured in the version of Peter Rabbit we would be reading during story time. We also had bunny shaped mac and cheese, almond butter and jam sandwiches cut out with a bunny face cutter, bunny butt carrot muffins with the most adorable tails and a bunny cake to finish. More things too. The table, covered with an orange cloth, groaned under its burden.

"It's going to be a fun party, isn't it?" His words were confident, but the line between his eyebrows told a different story, so I took his hand and led him to the big chair. Our guests would be arriving any minute, and Lane looked completely adorable in his bunny jams. He was already panning a Cat-terine themed party for later in the year, but this one was about the drawing he'd made me, which had graduated from the fridge to framed status on the living room wall, and the bunny I'd had made for him to match it. Bridger and a couple of other daddies had suggested we keep the number of littles invited to six or fewer, and the play to a couple of activities and a story or animated feature. Thus Peter Rabbit's Garden where the named bunny stops being a scofflaw in favor of growing his own veggies.

"It is going to be amazing. It's very nice of you to share your nursery playroom with the others as well." We'd just finished it. It was set up with a toddler bed instead of the crib many wanted, and a dresser filled with clothes. Also a toy box that had almost no room left. Not every little wanted to open their private space that way, but my generous boy loved to share, and we'd be doing a building activity and guessing game in there. "Have I told you how proud you make me?"

"Yes." He came over and flung his arms around me. "And it's only fair since I have the bestest daddy of all."

"And I have the best boy." In the whole world.