Happy...Birthday?

“Don’t come in!” the little girl shouted, pushing her mother out of the door.  Cassie looked to the girl with a bit of confusion and hurt in her eyes.

“But Carina…”

“No buts, mama!  You can’t come in!”

With that, the door was slammed right against her bottom, causing Cassie to jump forward a little bit.  She rubbed her rump with a frown and hurt lingering just behind the eyes.  Her little girl did not want to play with her.  On today of all days…

Cassie took a deep breath, trying to steady herself.  Her daughter would come out when she was ready.  The girl pulled out her cell phone—a newer model with a purple cover on it—and dialed the first person on her list.  Her boyfriend, Jaime Robertson, would probably be free.

She waited through the rings.  He was never the type to pick up on the first—

“Hey, babe,” his voice said from the other end of the line.  Cassie smiled.  She had needed to her him more than she had thought.  “What’s up?”

“Hey, sweetie.  Are you free?” Cassie asked.  She and Jamie could probably watch a movie in the other room while Carina kept to herself.

“Sorry, I’m a bit tied up right now,” Jamie said.  His voice was sincerely apologetic, but Cassie could not help but feel a touch hurt.  Still, she tried to grin and bear her pain.

“Okay…”

“You okay with a bit later, then?” Jamie asked.  Cassie giggled.  He always seemed to know just what to say to make her life just a bit better.

“Sure.  See you later.  Love you.”

“Love you more than the moon and stars.”

Cassie giggled as she hung up the phone.  But she was bored.  She needed someone to talk to.  She smiled as she moved to the next person on her list.  Ariel, who she often called Ri for short, was her very best friend.  Surely she’d have enough time to text her today.

Hey gurl.  Wnna cht?

Cass smiled as she waited for a reply, just knowing that Ariel would never abandon her today.  A familiar noise indicating that she had gotten a message did not disappoint her.

hi, Cass!  How u been?

so-so.  no 1 is talkin’ 2 me. 

bummer

ikr?

Cass frowned.  Ri often sent messages that were a bit longer.  At least more than one word.  She waited for a response and ended up sitting in the hallway to her own home for fifteen minutes before she got a reply.

srry, i’m multitasking.  y isn’t N-1 talkin’ 2 u?

Cass felt frustration bite at the corner of her patience.  What was everyone doing today?  Was there something huge that she missed?

evry-1 is bzy

oh

Cass waited a while for a reply, but she got none.  She sighed and gave up on that conversation.  Whatever Ri was doing, it had to be something very, very important.  She scrolled to the next person on her list.  Amy always had time to talk.  She turned the phone on speaker and let it ring.

“Is that you?” Carina’s voice asked from inside the kitchen.  Cass frowned.  Her speaker was not that loud.

“Oops…” a voice said from inside the kitchen.

“You’re gonna ruin the surprise!” another familiar voice said in hushed whispers.

“Turn it off!” Carina ordered in her cute little voice.

“Okay, okay!”

The speaker on Cass’s phone went dead, but she already knew what happened.  She could hear not just Carina in the kitchen, but Ri and Amy, too.  What were they doing in there?  Curious—and a bit hurt that they were in her house and claimed to be “too busy” to talk to her—she opened the door to the kitchen.

“Moom!” Carina whined.  “You can’t come in yet!”

“Carina, tell me what’s going on right now,” Cass said.  It was not a harsh tone of voice, but it was a serious one.  Carina flinched backwards for a moment and then played with her hands.  Cass’s heart broke at the sight of it.  She knelt down to the girl’s level.  “Carina, honey, you know we don’t keep secrets in this house.  We do suprises.  Now, please tell me what you’re working on so hard in here.”

While Carina’s head was down, Cass glared at her friends over her shoulder.  The two had the decency to look ashamed.

Carina backed away from her mother’s loving embrace and hopped onto the table.  She grabbed a little slip of paper and pulled it towards her before trotting back to her mother.  The small girl handed the paper over.

“For you…”

Cass blinked.  Then she opened the card.  And then she smiled.

“Happy Birthday to the bestest mamma ever!  I loooove you soooooo much!  Thanks for being my mamma!  --Carina”

Underneath was a small hand drawn image of Cass and Carina, two little stick figure women standing together with huge smiles on their faces.  The taller one—which could be assumed to be Cass—had the image of a crown atop her head.

“Do you like it, mamma?” Carina asked.  She fidgeted with her dress slightly, looking to her mother with wide anticipating eyes.  Cass nodded and planted a kiss on her little girl’s forehead.

“I love it.  Thank you, sweatheart.”

A clanging noise brought Cass’s attention over to the two guilty troublemakers still in the kitchen.  They were hovering around the stove even though the burners were not on.

“It’s gonna burn!”

“Take it out!”

“We didn’t ice it!”

“Oh, man…”

“What are you two doing?” Cass asked, thoroughly puzzled.  She had an idea as to what the duo was up to, but when those two were together under her roof, anything was possible.  The two looked more ashamed.

Serves them right for making her feel unwanted on her birthday.

“Uh…” Amy said, pulling something out of the oven.  “It’s not iced or anything…”

“But we couldn’t get a pre-made one at the store…”

“And Ariel-san made sure we got your favorite kind…”

“And we were gonna try and give it to you later, but…”

“Anyway…  We tried…”

“So, um…”

“Happy birthday?” they asked together, presenting a freshly baked cake to the birthday girl.  It was not iced at all and it was still steaming and still in the pan, but Cass did not care.  They had been making a cake for her birthday.

“Guys…” she said, tearing up.  She had honestly thought that everyone had forgotten her.

“You guys said the party wasn’t until one.  I thought I still had some time,” a familiar voice complained from the back door.  It happened to connect to the kitchen.  Cass turned around to see her red-headed boyfriend standing there, a bouquet of flowers in his hand and some balloons in the other.  “Her present won’t be ready for pickup until noon.”

“Jaime!” Cass squealed with joy, running to her boyfriend.  He caught her easily and spun her around before planting a gentle kiss on her lips.

“Happy birthday,” he whispered upon parting from her.

“Ew!  Boys have cooties!” Carina cried, sticking her tongue out.  The adults laughed, but none so more than Cassie.  Yes, the party was unfinished and the card had not been colored in all the way—it would receive lots and lots of sparkles later—and the cake had not been iced and Jaime still had to leave at eleven thirty to go pick up Cass’s real birthday present—a beautiful bracelet with her birthday (minus the year) engraved—but Cass loved it all the same.

No one had forgotten her birthday.  And she felt so loved.

All of her friends and family shared a communal fist bump.  The party was somehow a success.