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The guilt of not having prepared anything is already gnawing on my insides by the time I step under the jet of water. What are you supposed to get your girlfriend, who’s now also your fiance? It’s not like I have a ton of experiences to draw from for an answer.
I suppose jewelry and flowers are a bit of a cop-out. Besides, my usual jeweler is out of town, and my heirloom collection is somewhat inaccessible right now. Perhaps I could steal her away from her housemates for a moment and take her somewhere nice?
But I can’t shake the image of the three of them on her bed, giggling together. Despite her complaining, I could tell she appreciated that little slice of normalcy. In fact, ever since we started staying here, Roisin seems to have found a part of herself that’s been missing. She’s stronger now than I’ve ever given her credit for.
The way she handled me last night alone…
I have to do something special for her so she knows how much I’ve appreciated her these last few weeks.
By the time I leave the bathroom, my mind is made up: I will do whatever she wants today, whatever it costs. As long as it makes her smile. As long as it makes her feel like a normal twenty-four-year-old.
When I return to the bedroom fully clothed, I find all three girls cuddled up at the top of the bed, whispering to each other conspiratorially. I lean against the doorframe just to watch them for a moment. Roisin’s long red hair is being braided by Bella, her gentle, tired smile lighting up the room as Felicity gushes about something presumably scandalous.
They paint quite the picture, and when Roisin throws me an apologetic look, I can feel my heart begin to swell inside my chest.
“A-hem,” I cough to announce myself dramatically. “I don’t suppose I could interest the three of you in some breakfast?”
***
After a heated debate, the four of us end up at the nearbyiHOP.A decision was made in solidarity after Roisin threatened to disembowel Bella if she didn’t get her coffee soon.
Although Felicity had immediately demanded a Michelin-star restaurant (which I was more than happy to accommodate), Roisin had mentioned her sister traditionally made her pancakes on her birthday. Although I wasn’t convinced of the quality produced by the restaurant chain, my cooking skills are limited enough to know that I wouldn’t have been able to produce much better. Or as thickly covered in maple syrup.
Bella happily adds yet another glug of the gooey condiment onto her already tilting stack of pancakes as Roisin nurses her coffee.
“We should tell them it’s your birthday,” Felicity muses, looking at the servers. “Maybe we’ll get some free stuff.”
“Absolutely not,” Roisin snaps back.
I watch the scene play out in amusement.
“Come on, it’ll be fun!” Felicity presses. “When it was Bella’s birthday, they even sang for her.”
Roisin groans. “I don’t want them to sing for me.”
“What?” I tease. “You don’t want to be the center of attention?”
Roisin hits me much harder than I care to admit. I try not to wince as I tuck into my own pancakes. Huh. Not bad.
“So…?” Felicity urges Roisin, who scowls in response.
“So what?”
“Do you feel any older?”
Roisin raises an eyebrow. “Ifeeltired.”
“We should do something tonight! Something to celebrate,” Felicity continues as if Roisin isn’t currently staring daggers at her.
“Ooh! We could try outOnyxagain!” Bella pipes up.
The name rings a bell. “The one on forty-fifth?” I ask as I scan my memories to remember where I’ve heard of the club before.
Bella nods eagerly. “Yes! Last time we tried, they wouldn’t let us in because apparently there was a dress code or something.”
Roisin snorts. “Bella, they didn’t let us in because you were hurling your guts up in the line.”
“That’s not true!” she protests.
