Chapter Five

Juley woke up to the sound of a flute blaring, and the sight of Gary carrying a cake in his hands.

"Happy birthday," he said excitedly as he placed the cake on her bedside cupboard.

Juley couldn't stop herself from blushing as she rubbed her eyes so she could see better. She sat up against the headboard as Gary seated himself at the end of the bed.

" T-t-this is unexpectedly nice," she commented. "T-t-thank you."

Gary waved if off, "It's nothing. It's actually more of Solange's idea. She insisted I do this or she would cut off my limbs."

Juley chuckled, "W-w-what? W-w-why is she being so nice t-t-towards me?"

'Maybe because she knows how much I am attracted to you', Gary thought, not daring to say it out loud. Instead, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "I guess she just seems to like you."

Juley eyed him skeptically. "H-h-hope you h-h-haven't told her anything unusual."

"Ummm, not exactly." Gary said, avoiding eye contact with her. Trying to ease the tense atmosphere in the room, he got up from the bed and parted the curtains.

Juley shielded her eyes as the rays of the sun hit her. Before she could even notice it, Gary took a photo of her with his phone snappily.

"W-w-what...?" Juley tried to question, dumbstruck.

Gary had a wide grin on his face as he looked at the photo. "This is priceless. Surprise pics are the best."

"Oh please. C-c-could you please delete it? I'm s-s-sure I look terrible in it."

"Quite the contrary. You look so cute in it. Infact, you look so cute that I feel like I should post this." This latter remark earned him a pillow in the face from Juley. "I was just joking, jeez!" He exclaimed as the pillow hit him. But he couldn't stop himself from laughing as he saw the look on her face.

He raised his phone to take another pic, but Juley shouted, "Don't you even dare!"

Still laughing, Gary put down his phone. "You're more cute when you're pissed off."

He seated himself back on the bed. "Anyways, we have to blow the candles on your cake and cut it up. How could I forget about that? Solange would kill me if she hears about this."

He lifted the cake from the cupboard and held it in front of her. "Make a wish."

"I-I-I'm not s-s-seven, you k-k-know," she jokingly said.

Gary shrugged, "Make a wish anyway."

Juley covered her eyes and stayed quiet for a few seconds, before opening them and blowing at the candles.

"Happy birthday once again," Gary wished.

"T-t-thank you," Juley replied excitedly.

"I'll go get some cutlery from the kitchen." He placed the cake back on the cupboard and walked out of the room.

Once he was out of sight, Juley looked at her phone to see if she had any birthday wishes or even texts, but she had none. With a sad expression on her face, she put away her phone as she heard Gary approaching. She tried to fake a smile as he walked in, but he noticed what she was trying to do right away.

He sliced a piece of cake, put it on a plate and gave it to her. He also put a slice for himself.

As he watched her eat, he noticed that she didn't seem to have that much appetite, and didn't seem in the mood.

"What's bothering you?" he asked her.

"N-n-nothing," she shook her head and tried to fake a smile. "T-t-this cake is actually quite g-g-good."

"Juley, I see what you are trying to do. You're just evading my question. What's bothering you?"

Tears sprang to her eyes, and she put her head down as she let them flow. Gary moved closer to her and wrapped her in his embrace. "It's ok of you don't want to talk about it." He tried to soothe her as he patted her back.

"My f-f-family f-f-forgot my b-b-birthday. It's always b-b-been this way, don't know why I expected anything different fr-fr-from them this year. B-b-but I have b-b-been away for so long t-t-that I t-t-thought they'd m-m-miss me enough to r-r-remember it t-t-this once. W-w-what's worst is t-t-the f-f-fact that you and your s-s-sister w-w-who are complete str-str-strangers are doing w-w-what they've n-n-never done for me.

"Not even my boyfriend r-r-remembered. H-h-he doesn't even m-m-miss me. I r-r-ran away from him last n-n-night, but he hasn't even cared to check up on me. M-m-maybe he hasn't even n-n-noticed my absence. I f-f-feel so alone r-r-right now." She let the tears flow like a steady stream.

" It's alright," Gary continued trying to soothe her." Things like this happen every now and then. It's okay. I'm sure your boyfriend will try to get to you soon. He's probably just caught up with something or the other." Talking about her boyfriend, he felt a lump in his throat. He felt jealous.

"T-t-thank you f-f-for your kind words, b-b-but I know better." She managed to contain the tears, and drew out of his embrace. "D-d-don't you have to go to sc-sc-school today?" Then she noticed the splotches on his shirt. "Oh, look. I'm s-s-sorry. I ruined your s-s-shirt."

"It's alright, I don't mind. Serves me right for not having a handkerchief or some kleenex around. And about school, I think I will be skipping that today."

"W-w-why?" Juley quickly questioned.

"Because I want you to have the perfect birthday. Do you have any place you've always wanted to go to?"

"W-w-well, I've always w-w-wanted to go to Paris," Juley said with a smirk.

Gary laughed at that. "You know what I mean. At least places it would be possible for me to show you."

Juley seemed to be in thought for some time, then she shook her head. "I don't t-t-think I have any of such p-p-places in mind."

"Okay, let me rephrase. What would be your definition of a perfect day?"

"Oh! I definitely h-h-have an answer to t-t-that. A day with m-m-music, lots of f-f-food, m-m-maybe go to the m-m-movies or an amusement p-p-park. You know, just little n-n-nice t-t-things like t-t-that."

"I can easily fulfill all of that. There's no complicated desire on your list."

Juley shrugged. "I'm j-j-just a girl w-w-with very s-s-simple cravings."

"Well then, how about you finish that slice of cake and freshen up. I'll take you to a nice breakfast place. Not exactly sophisticated and all that, but the food is good."

"W-w-why do we h-h-have to go out f-f-for br-br-breakfast. I very much pr-pr-prefer Solange's cooking."

"Solange already went for work, and so did Harry. It's just you and I, home alone."

Gary finished his slice of cake in two bites and stood up. "I'll just keep the remaining cake in the fridge," he said as he walked out with it. "Please freshen up as quick as you can. I know how you ladies are."

"If you know how we are, t-t-then you should know better t-t-than to rush a l-l-lady."

"Haha, very funny," he said on his way out. He closed the door behind him, but immediately poked his head back in to say, "And I highly recommend you bringing your guitar along." When she opened her mouth to object, he said, "No, you're not allowed to decline. And that's final." And he quickly shut the door behind him.

As he walked away, Juley couldn't stop the smile that came to her lips. She actually found herself looking forward to the rest of the day, and what it would be like.