~Brie

About an hour and a half later, we're stationed at a table in the center of the lobby of Pacific Vale Academy. All around us, the bakesale was in full swing and our table was in full swing we could hardly keep up.

“Thanks for stopping by” Dove smiled at a couple.

“Have a nice day” Zach said to another.

“Tell your friends!” our Dad would add.

I chuckled as I replaced the empty trays.

“Bruce, give me a hand with the sign” Mom sighed as a kid nearly ran into our sign.

“What is with these kids and running?” Emmett muttered, joining us at our table.

“Em, I thought you went home” I looked up at him.

“Nia wanted me to come and make sure everything went smoothly” he explained.

“This isn't our first rodeo, Emmett. And I think Nia knows that” Zachary chuckled.

“Well I'm beat and I need to sit down” Dove sighed.

Zach pulled up a chair for her.

“Daddy? Why don't you and Mom head home? We'll hold it off from here” I suggested.

“We have no problem staying honey” Dad smiled.

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“And where's Roman?”

“Showing Iris and Aiden around the school” Zach chuckled.

“Oh, that boy” Mom shook her head.

“There they come” Dove nudged me.

I followed her gaze and saw them.

Where's Aiden?

Roman spotted our table and bolted straight to us.

“Manny, walk” I let out when he neared our table.

“But it's fun to run” he pouted.

Dad ruffled his hair and mom handed him a bottle of water. Iris smiled up at me when she reached our table. She poked at our cash box and her smile grew wider.

“What are you, billionaires now?” she teased.

“Maybe” I smiled.

“I'm a hundred percent sure you are because no one has made this much from all the tables we've been to” she chuckled.

My eyes roamed around a bit, seeing if I could spot Aiden.

“He just stepped out to take a phone call” Iris nudged me.

I blinked.

“Huh?”

“You're looking for Aiden right?” she smiled. “He just stepped out to get a phone call.”

“I err... no I wasn't—”

“It's normal to wonder where he is, Brie” she giggled, putting some money into the cash box and picking up an iced oatmeal cookie.

Before she could imply anything, I spotted Roman's principal approaching our table. She eyed our goods and then the cash box.

“Roman, Ms. Nolan. I have to say, I'm very impressed” she beamed. “Your goods are the talk of the entire bakesale.”

“Thank you, Principal Pye” I smiled.

“Can I interest you in some rugelach?” my Dad jumped in.

Principal Pye smiled.

“Are they vegan?”

“Well... they have cream cheese so no,” Dad said.

“But we did make one batch that has almond yogurt in it, just in case” Mom swapped the tray with a flourish.

“That one was my idea” Roman giggled.

“Well alright. I'll take four” Principal Pye nodded.

Dove rang her up and Zachary set her off with a bag full of baked goods. As the flow of customers slowed, we each took a seat.

“Breanna!”

I paused the conversation I was having with Zach and looked up.

“Athena?” I asked. “What are you doing here?”

She smiled.

“Hello? President of in PTA board... forgotten already?”

Right, right.

I gave her a small smile.

“Of course not.”

“I get invited to these things.”

I nodded.

“Where are Selena and Trevor? Did you bring them?” I asked instead.

“Vending machine” she gestured and turned her attention to Roman. “Hello, Manny. How are you?”

“Fine Mrs. Trevor's mom” he replied.

Athena chuckled a little.

“May we interest you in a rugelach Mrs. Trevor's mom?” Iris beamed.

Athena arched a brow.

“Rugelach?”

“They're traditional Jewish pastries. Top secret family recipe” I explained.

Athena jutted out a hip.

“I didn't know you were Jewish, Breanna.”

“Oh, she's not” Iris chuckled. “But it's really good.”

Athena shrugged.

“Okay. I'll take five” she said.

“Excellent!”

She bagged Athena's order and handed it to her.

“Thank you. And here you go” Athena said, handing over a crisp five to Iris.

“I hope you enjoy them, ma'am.”

“I hope so too.”

“Oh, there's Trev!” Roman exclaimed and bolted from behind the table.

“Roman!” I called after him.

“Don't worry, I'll go check on him” Iris said and followed the direction he ran.

Athena nudged me.

“You finally got him a sitter. That's good, Breanna.”

“Got who a sitter?”

“Roman. And she's real pretty too” Athena smiled.

“Who? Iris?” I chuckled, then shook my head. “Iris isn't a sitter, Athena.”

“Oh?”

I shook my head again.

“No. She's a friend.”

“Oh,” she said dryly. “Silly me. Thinking she's your sitter.”

“No, Iris is a friend.”

“And her boss' sister” Mom added as she passed by us. “Nice seeing you, Thena.”

“Mom was that part necessary?” I called out after her.

She waved me off and Athena smiled at me.

“Oh. Your boss' sister?”

“Yes, Athena. Iris is my boss' sister.”

“And you weren't going to mention that?”

“No. Because it's not relevant.”

“For me to know you invited your boss' sister to your son's school bakesale?” she asked almost immediately.

“And what are you going to do with that information, Athena?” I folded my arms.

“Oh Breanna” she let out a laugh, giving me a playful shove. “Always so defensive.”

I shook my head.

“I don't see anything wrong with inviting Iris or her brother to a charity bakesale, Athena.”

She blinked once, and then she blinked twice, then she frowned a bit before chuckling.

“You invited your boss?”

I sighed.

“Technically, Athena, Roman invited my boss. And I have no problem with that, in case you're wondering.”

She touched her pearl necklace.

“You don't?”

“No, Athena. This bake sale is going to help raise money for the local children's home. And I think it's great Roman invited my boss and his sister.”

She nodded.

“You're right, you're right. I've heard how wealthy the man is and we both know rich people just love charities.”

Ugh.

Athena was a good person. But sometimes... like right now... she could be insufferable.

“Why don't you introduce me to your boss later?” she smiled.

I scoffed.

“Now why would I do that?”

“Well, so I could invite him to Rutherford's Christmas party next month. You are coming, aren't you?”

“Christmas party?” I arched a brow.

“Christmas party” she giggled.

“We're having a party?” I chuckled. “I thought Rutherford was having budget cuts and whatnot?”

“Well yes. But it's important to throw the party. We could help raise funding to help the school out next year.”

“And you want to invite my boss?”

“We could ask Roman to. He's a smart kid. He can be subtle.”

“You're not using my son to leech off my boss, Athena” I chuckled.

“So what, I should book an appointment to speak to him when you can just introduce us and cut the long process short?”

“Even if I did introduce you, Athena, what makes you so sure he'll come?”

She opened her mouth, then closed it and let out a breath.

“Oh, you're right.”

Yes, I am.

“But there's no harm in trying, now is there, Brie?”

Ugh!

I rolled my eyes a bit. From over Athena's head, I saw Aiden approaching. He smiled at me and paused beside us.

“I hope I'm not interrupting.”

Athena blinked.

“You must be Breanna's boss, Mr. Corleone was it?” she let out.

“And you must be Mrs. Trevor's mom.”

I chuckled as Athena let out a small laugh.

“Mrs. Chesterfield. But please, call me Athena.”

“Only if you promise to call me Aiden.”

“Deal” Athena grinned, shaking Aiden's hand.

He let go and turned his attention to me.

“Ms. Nolan.”

“Mr. Corleone” I nodded back.

“Have you seen Iris?”

“She went with Roman to make sure he's fine.”

“And he is” Iris replied, breezing beside us. “He's with his friends.”

“Thanks, Rissa” I smiled at her.

“Don't worry about it. I love that kid. Hey, mind if I step out for a bit? I need to make a quick phone call.”

“No sure, go ahead” I smiled.

She smiled at me, playfully nudged her brother, and walked away.

“So” Athena spoke up, “Do you two always have outings like this?”

“What?” I asked.

“You and your boss. Do you two go on outings like this a lot?”

“I don't think this is an outing, Athena” Aiden smiled. “Ms. Nolan's son invited me.”

“So I keep hearing.”

For someone named after the goddess of wisdom, she could be insufferable and immature a lot of times, like right now.

She somehow managed to ease the conversation into mentioning her position in Rutherford's PTA to Aiden and bringing up the budget cuts in the school. Right after not very subtly asking Aiden to donate to the school, her phone rang.

“Oh sorry. I've gotta take this. Excuse me one sec” she smiled sheepishly.

“Take your time,” Aiden said softly, pushing his hands into his pockets.

We watched Athena walk away. Aiden let out a sigh.

“Well... she's interesting.”

“If my interesting you mean pushy and incredibly nosy then please, by all means, she's very interesting” I shook my head.

Aiden chuckled and turned to look at me.

“I feel like I haven't seen you the whole of today, my love” he whispered, turning to fully face me.

I bit back a smile.

“Aiden, we're in public. We've got people like Athena snooping around. Don't make this hard on me.”

He smirked.

“It's hard on you?”

I chuckled.

“Stop.”

“So you don't wanna hear my great idea to sneak off for thirty minutes?”

I was about to reply when everything with Herve came flooding into my head.

“Aiden...”

“I know, I know” he chuckled, oblivious to the mess I'd put us in. “How about tonight then? Just you and me?”

“Aiden...”

“I'm not taking no for an answer, my love.”

I sighed and chuckled a little.

“I'll think about it.”

Aiden put a hand to his chest and faked a shocked expression. I laughed. Athena walked back over, ruining the moment.

“You two look cozy. What'd I miss?” she asked.

“Nothing Athena. Don't read into everything” I told her.

She was about to say something when someone else interrupted us.

Thank God.

“Breanna” she smiled.

“Hello Annie” I smiled.

She looked around.

“Oh forgive me for interrupting.”

“Oh you weren't” I smiled. “Mr. Corleone, Athena, this is Annie, Roman's teacher.”

Aiden nodded politely.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Annie.”

“Likewise” she smiled.

Athena stayed quiet and Annie's turned to me.

“I hear you have rugelach.”

I smiled.

“I do.”

“I haven't eaten one in years” Annie chuckled, bringing out some notes. “How much for the rest?”

“Oh, okay” I chuckled as she pushed the notes into my hand.

I signaled Zach and he bagged up the rest of the rugelach for her. Annie brought a pastry to her lips. She took a bite and practically melted.

“Oh, oh my goodness. This is even better than I remember it!” she moaned.

I smiled.

“Makes me happy to hear that.”

We were interrupted by Roman and Athena's kids running over to the table.

“Auntie Breanna. Hello,” Trevor greeted.

“Hi Trev” I smiled.

Selena waved at me.

“Wow, what a pretty dress, Sel” I commented.

She gently touched her tulle.

“I know. But thank you, Auntie.”

I just smiled and turned to Roman. He had a brownie in his hand and a smile on his face as he spoke to Aiden. When he spotted his teacher he grinned wider.

“Hi, Miss Annie.”

“Hello, Roman.”

“Mommy, there's a table over there with cookies shaped like atoms” he giggled.

“Did they have electrons?” I asked.

“Yes. And you'll never guess what they're made from.”

“Gummy bears?”

He laughed.

“How'd you know?”

“Because I know things” I shrugged with a smile.

“That's not fair,” Trevor said.

Roman giggled, then frowned a bit before scratching at his neck.

“Hey, Mommy? Do you have any bug spray?”

“Bug spray?” Athena asked.

“Roman, why do you need bug spray?” I asked.

“I think something bit me” he pouted.

“Ugh, must be those ants near the vending machine,” Annie said. “The exterminator keeps putting us off. I'll go talk to Principal Pye in a minute.”

“Lemme go ask your Dad if he has any bug spray,” Aiden said to me.

I walked back behind the table and grabbed my purse.

“Dove, do you have any bug spray?” I asked.

“No. Why?”

“Something bit Manny.”

“Really?” Zachary asked, getting up from beside his fiancée.

“Yeah. His teacher said—”

“Mommy, my face is all tingly” Roman whined.

I turned to Roman and my heart stopped as I noticed how puffy Roman's cheeks looked.

That's not an ant bite.

“Roman? Where did you get that brownie?” I slowly asked.

“Um... a dad gave it to me. From somewhere over...”

He stopped and his eyes widened.

Oh no.

Roman flung the brownie away from him, coughing. I could see the beginnings of panic in his eyes. I immediately reached his side.

“Hey, hey, hey. Look at me, baby. Deep breaths. It's going to be fine” I said, trying to tamp down the swelling of panic in my gut.

“Breanna, what's going on?!” Athena cried, tugging her children back and drawing my family's attention to us.

“There must have been soy in the brownie. He's having an allergy attack.”

Roman clutched my hand as he gasped for air.

“What's happening to Manny?” Selena asked from her mother's leg where she had clutched.

“The brownie he ate... it... he's allergic to soy” I stammered.

“But he's careful,” Zachary said.

“Yes, he knows to always check for ingredients” Dad added.

“Should we call the ambulance?” Annie asked.

“I just did,” Aiden said, pushing his phone back into his pocket. “They're nearby so they should be here very soon.”

I looked at him.

“You shouldn't have. I always carry his epinephrine injector if a reaction is serious” I said, grabbing my purse to search for the injector. “Where is it?” I muttered, my hands trembling.

It didn't look like it was in my purse.

Had I been so distracted that I forgot it?

Roman clutched my hand tighter and my heart leaped into my throat. Before I could break down into tears and scare my son even more, two paramedics arrived.

“Everyone clear some space!”

They moved back as I stayed with Roman who now laid in my arms as I sat on the floor. A tear ran down his cheek and my heart broke.

“Shhhh baby. It'll be okay, I promise” I whispered.

“Ma'am, I'm going to need to try to get him talking,” one paramedic said to me.

I looked down at my son.

“Manny, can you speak for me?” I asked.

“I... Mommy i-it feels like they're ants crawling in my mouth. Make it stop, please.”

I held onto his hand, my heart thumping wildly in my chest.

“Good. If he can still talk it means his throat hasn't closed over completely” the paramedic said.

I nodded.

“What's his name?”

“Roman” almost everyone surrounding us chorused.

“Okay, Roman? I'm going to examine you okay? You'll be fine.”

With a gentle touch, she palpated his throat and under his jaw. Roman winced and turned his head to press into my chest.

“Oh Manny please” I whispered, gently shaking him.

“Ma'am I'm going to need you to help calm him down a little” the paramedic sighed. “I need to see how much of his wheezing is anxiety and how much is the allergy.”

“Yes, yes” I nodded. “I'd hate it if he triggered an asthma attack too.”

“He's asthmatic?”

“Yes,” I numbly replied gently rolling Roman away from me.

He shook his head.

“Mommy, I'm scared” he whimpered. “I... the dad said there wasn't any soy in it... I just took one tiny bite...”

I made a mental note to have several words with whoever that dad was. I squeezed Roman's hand, trying to quell my own panic enough to calm him down.

“Baby, calm down, okay? You'll be fine. Just breathe with me okay?”

I inhale slowly through my nose and release a long exhale through my mouth.

“Like this okay? Just breathe.”

Roman mimics my slow breathing, history rattling a little. As the two of us keep up the rhythm together, Roman's breathing eases and I feel my own panic subsiding.

“You good?” I whispered.

He nodded.

“Yeah. I think I... I was just freaking out” he whispered back.

I sighed and nodded. Then Roman began to sob quietly.

“Am I going to be okay?” he asked the paramedic beside us this time.

“Yes, Roman. Don't worry” she replied, wiping his tears with a tissue. “Now I'm going to need you to try very hard and open up for me okay?”

He nodded and opened his mouth. The paramedic peered inside. Afterward, she touched Roman's forehead with the back of her hand.

“Good news. His airway is clear and everything looks good in there” she said to me then looked at Roman. “Your mouth might feel a bit itchy for a little while and I still see some hives on your neck, but nothing serious okay?”

“We found the epinephrine injector” Zachary waved it over to me.

Thank God!

The paramedic addressed me in an even, reassuring tone.

“He's not going to need epinephrine. But antihistamines are in order. We're going to take him to the hospital and he should be out and back home very soon.”

“Hospital?” I asked, not liking the idea.

“It's okay, ma'am.”

I sighed and nodded.

“Yes, yes, okay.”

She signaled at her colleague and turned back to my son.

“Roman, are you ready to go for a little ride?” she smiled at him.

Roman nodded miserably and the paramedic scooped him up into her arms. Roman instinctively clutched onto her neck and despite his discomfort, he smiled at Aiden as they walked past him. Emmett and my parents immediately followed.

“Dove and I will take care of your table Brie. Go be with your son” Zachary said, hugging me.

I nodded and smiled gratefully at my best friend before following. Aiden cut in front of me just as I was about to take the turn out of the hall.

“I'm gonna wait for Iris to get back then we're both coming to the hospital okay? I'm not letting you go through this alone” he whispered.

I nodded.

“Thank you, my love.”

He nodded back.

“Go on.”

I gave him a small smile and numbly walked out.

Thank you so much for reading! ✨