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“I’ll be ready,” he assured me. “Just text me when you get here.”
“Okay. I’ll see you in a little bit.”
“Alright. I’ve got to go. I’m getting another call.”
With that, Roy and I disconnected. I grabbed my purse, keys, and the gift, and I was out the door in a flash.
It wasn’t until I was finally back in my car on the way to pick up Roy that I started to settle down. I wanted to have a good time tonight, and if I didn’t at least try to relax, that was never going to happen.
That wouldn’t be fair to Roy or to me.
Today was Roy’s birthday, and I was taking him out to celebrate. We’d been dating each other for ten months now, and I wholeheartedly believed he might be the guy for me.
The truth was, Roy and I might have struggled in some areas with our connection to one another, but I had a feeling that had more to do with our respective personal financial situations. We both did our best to make ends meet, and Roy had been having an especially difficult time lately, considering he’d lost his job almost three months ago and hadn’t managed to find anything else.
Not only that, but my car was only a slight step above his right now, because his stopped working two and a half weeks ago. With no job, he couldn’t afford to get it fixed. I was doing what I could to help him out with rent, but being on limited funds myself, I couldn’t do much.
But since it was his birthday tonight, I really wanted him to have a good night, and I thought he deserved to have some fun. I couldn’t afford anything extravagant, but we were going to have a nice dinner out before we went to the movies.
I made it to Roy’s place, sent him a text, and waited. A moment later, he came outside and walked right up to the driver’s side door. He opened it and said, “Let me drive.”
Figuring he was probably sick of not being able to drive anywhere and not caring if I drove, I unbuckled and crawled over the center console to the passenger seat.
The minute he was seated behind the wheel, I leaned toward him, placed a chaste kiss on his lips, and smiled. “Happy birthday.”
He smiled back at me. “Thanks, Devyn.”
After settling back in my seat, I put on my belt and asked, “So, how was your day today?”
Roy had already started driving toward the restaurant. “It was okay. A lot of my friends reached out with birthday wishes.”
“That’s nice. Did you do anything?” I pressed.
Taking his eyes off the road, he glanced over at me and asked, “How would I have done anything? You know my car is out of commission right now.”
There was a clear edge of frustration in his tone. “I know. I just wasn’t sure if maybe someone stopped over to visit with you, or if someone picked you up to take you out for lunch.”
Roy didn’t look over at me again, but I could see something move through his expression. No doubt it was disappointment, and I suddenly felt horrible for him. “Nobody stopped over. Just you.”
Wanting to turn things around, I promised, “Well, I think we’re going to have a fantastic night. I’m looking forward to the movie.”
He nodded slowly. “Yeah, it’s been a very long time since we’ve been able to really get out and do anything fun.”
Hearing those words, I suddenly didn’t feel so bad about all the extra work I’d been putting in lately, so I could save up the money to do something special for Roy. We both needed to have this, and I was simply glad I found a way to make it happen.
We made it to the restaurant with just two minutes to spare before our reservation, and we were seated immediately.
Since I wanted to keep the positive vibes we’d both been feeling toward the end of our drive, as soon as Roy and I gave our dinner selections to the server, I reached into my purse and pulled out the small gift box.
“What’s this?” Roy asked as he reached for the box.
Beaming at him, I said, “Happy birthday.”
Curiosity, and perhaps a bit of caution, moved through his expression as he took the box and started to unwrap it.
With the wrapping removed, he opened the box and revealed what was inside. Roy inspected the gift, and I couldn’t quite tell what he was thinking, so I thought I’d speak.
“I wanted to get you something else, something more, but it’s been a little tough lately,” I started. “Anyway, I confirmed that this was a really good knife with the guy at the store. He said a lot of guys, especially hunters, buy this one, so I thought it’d be great for you.”
