Aftersun 2022.

The warm summer night air enveloped the small terrace. The string lights, which Sophia had insisted on helping set up, flickered gently in the breeze. You carefully placed a couple of candles on the table while Sophia flitted around, humming a melody she had likely heard at the pool earlier that morning.

“Do you think he’ll like it, Dad?” Sophia asked, her voice brimming with excitement as she looked at Calum with wide, hopeful eyes.

“I’m sure he will, sweetheart,” you replied, glancing at the small, improvised cake.

“Surprise!” Sophia exclaimed in unison with you.

Calum’s expression was a poem: surprise, gratitude, and a hint of embarrassment. He had never been comfortable with this kind of attention, but the effort evident in every detail the crooked garlands, the slightly crumbled cake, the songs Sophia had secretly rehearsed deeply moved him.

“You didn’t have to do this…”