Party

Lucas returned home with a hefty portion of his birthday cake, his fondant figure and a heavy heart. He placed the edible items in the fridge to preserve them and stared silently at the clock on the wall.

When did it get so late?

He reluctantly began to get ready for bed. He was going to need all the sleep he could get to prepare for what laid ahead of him. Then again it would be amusing to see his mother's reaction if he turned up with red eyes like a rabbit. She would probably make him wear under eye concealer so he looked more marriageable.

As he suspected, he was unable to sleep and stared at the ceiling for a while before giving up and turning to his phone.

He had managed to become friends with Layla on Facebook in the week and started to type out a message to her so he could pass the time away talking to someone he liked. Then he saw it was three in the morning and changed his mind. He couldn't deprive of her of sleep. It would be too selfish. He dimmed his phone and read a few work emails instead until he felt tired.

That didn't work and he ended up spending the night tossing and turning and when his alarm went off, he was still awake. He groaned into his pillow.

It was now his 25th birthday and he'd spent the night unable to sleep like he was 10 again and too excited to sleep.

Well, he had until seven in the evening to ponder his life decisions. He switched on his desktop computer and played online games to pass the morning. Every so often he would think about Sweet Cake Patisserie and wonder what they were doing. Did they miss him?

The door buzzer went just as he was deciding on lunch and he opened the door to find the security guard holding a wrapped package with his name and address on. One of the perks of living in a gated residential area was that all post went through the security team so he knew it wasn't hate mail.

"This just arrived by courier," the security guard informed him.

Lucas accepted it and stared at the shape. It had to be a suit and he had an idea where he was supposed to wear it. He went back inside and unwrapped the plastic and pulled down the zip.

It was indeed a suit and a very smart one at that. The fabric and cut of it were exquisite. A note dropped out when he parted the folds of the jacket and he realised who sent it.

'I bought this for you so you don't shame me tonight. The driver will pick you up at five thirty.'

His mother wasn't taking any chances. There was no name with the note, but he recognised the attitude and then the handwriting.

Clearly his mother thought he would turn up in skinny jeans and a t-shirt to embarrass her. Like he would do that. His younger brother was the child who would do that and sometimes he wished he had the guts of his brother.

He ate his birthday cake for lunch and checked his Facebook messages. There were a lot from Layla and her two employees wishing him happy birthday and sending him photos of freshly made cake. Lucas looked down at his doorstep slice of a cake slice and decided he wasn't too envious as his had been specially made for him.

What he was missing was everything else.

He idled his time away until five when he had a long shower and made himself look presentable for whoever would be at his party.

His close family would be there, lots of business acquaintances of his parents, affiliates and eligible young ladies. Maybe his younger brother would be there. He hadn't seen him since his school graduation. He didn't miss him at all.

***

"Happy birthday," his mother greeted him in the entrance way.

He stared at her in surprise, he had been expecting a quick hello and 'make yourself friendly with these young ladies I picked out for you', not a birthday greeting.

His mother didn't look much different to how she had looked a few years before when he had last seen her mainly due to regular trips to the dermatologist and expensive skin products. Her hair was groomed back impeccably with no stray hairs and she was wearing a well-cut designer suit like she always did. Her fashion had never changed as far as he could remember.

"Thank you," he replied.

"Your father is in the study, make sure to greet him," she instructed.

Lucas nodded and walked down the plushly carpeted hallway to find his father. The house still looked as dark and dull as it always had despite the regular refurbishments his mother chose to stay fashionable.

"Lucas!" his father said when he opened the door.

His father looked mostly the same as usual perhaps with a few more lines on his face and grey hairs sprouting in his hair. Lord Winston Ainsworth was nearly 60 and had been a very old-fashioned father. He had always blended into the background at events and always agreed with his mother.

The person in question smiled in spite of everything at seeing his father's excitement.

"Your mother is happy that you're coming tonight as well," Winston added after giving him a fatherly pat on the shoulder and drawing him into the study.

Lucas wanted to say that she was just excited to marry him off but restrained himself. His father would tell his mother and he would have even more trouble then.

"The company is doing well," he said to change the subject.

His father didn't accept the change.

"Your mother does love you, that's why she's doing this. At the rate you're going you won't get married before you're 50 and that's cutting it a little fine."

"Dad, I've accepted that I'm going to have to marry someone of her choice," Lucas assured him.

His father didn't look convinced, but he followed the change in subject.

"With regards to the company you should delegate better so you don't take on too much work like you did last week."

Lucas narrowed his eyes. His father had passed the company onto him and therefore should have no involvement. He shouldn't have known that. There were a few potential sources and he was sure he knew where the information had come from.

"How did you know about that?"

"Caroline told your mother," his father told him.

One of the good things about his father was his habit of being truthful and to the point. He knew he couldn't fully trust Caroline, now he had confirmation. It was a good thing he had never trusted his deepest secret to her.

"I'll make some changes tomorrow," he replied. "I would like to have more free time than I have now."

"You do need to make yourself available to young ladies," his father agreed.

"Wonderful," Lucas commented with a healthy dose of sarcasm.

His father reached out and gave him another pat.

"I remember feeling like that when I was your age. I didn't want to be tied down to a woman I barely knew."

Lucas stared back. He'd forgotten to consider that his father had been in the same situation. Otherwise he wouldn't exist.

"How many meetings did you have?"

"Your mother was the first and last," his father said with a faraway look in his eyes. "She was sweet and knowledgeable. She was pretty as well."

That was the kindest thing he'd heard his father say about his mother. He also couldn't imagine her as being sweet either. It was an odd mental image.

"I can't say I was in love with her, but I didn't hate her either which I thought was enough at the time."

It was surprising to hear that. Whilst Lucas had never really had the allusion that his parents loved each other it was another thing to hear it out loud. Was he going to end up with someone that he thought was simply tolerable?

"Do you have any regrets?"

The question slipped out before he could stop it. His father didn't mind though.

"Of course I do. There was a girl I went out with in school who was paid to break up with me and I still can't forget. There's also always been the question of what would have happened if I had continued meeting marriage prospects; there might have been someone I could actually love."

Lucas had never seen this side of his father and he appreciated his honesty.

"I didn't want to keep having to go to all these meetings," his father continued on. "I wanted it all to end. I'm not sure what advice to give you because of the decisions I made. Technically I'm glad I chose your mother because it meant that you are my son."

That was the most loving thing his father had ever said to him. Who knew he would have to wait for his 25th birthday to hear it?

"Your mother will be nagging us if I keep talking to you," his father said after a moment of wistful silence.

Lucas was waiting to hear an impatient knock at the door. For the moment it was quiet. Winston reached into a drawer and pulled out an unevenly wrapped present.

"Happy Birthday," he said and handed it to him. "I wish you become happier than me."

Lucas didn't know what to say so he settled for unwrapping it. The present turned out to be a collection of all the sweets he'd loved as a child and had hidden under his bed. He hadn't been as discreet as he thought he'd been if his father had known all of them in detail down to his favourite flavours.

"Thank you," he said sincerely and was interrupted by a knock at the door.

It was obviously his mother and he left the study with a last look at his father. He had learnt a lot in five minutes.

His mother was indeed waiting for him outside. She didn't have her arms crossed this time, but she didn't look happy with him either.

"Lucas, the first guests are going to start arriving and I need you to be available."

"Where is the party going to be?"

"In the reception room," she said as if it was obvious and he was being stupid. "It's just through here."

She pushed open a door that opened out into a large dining area with plenty of tables and chairs and a dance floor. There were waiters milling around the food and filling up trays of drinks. Lucas hadn't seen this room before so he assumed his parents had remodelled very extensively since he left home.

One table caught his attention and he saw what had to be his birthday cake. It looked absolutely awful. The sight of it made him miss Sweet Cake Patisserie even more.

It had multiple tiers and was covered in what had to be very expensive gold foil and gold dusted truffles. To Lucas it looked gauche and tacky. Layla's had looked homely, but sophisticated.

"That cake was expensive, you'd better appreciate it," she informed him sternly. "I'm going to check on any arrivals- you had better still be here when I return."

Lucas nodded silently and watched her depart before rolling his eyes. As if he would do a runner now.

He had fully accepted his fate.