Chapter 13 : Birthday 2

“You’re right, Tucker. Flynn can’t sit still like an adult for too long. Come on, Nina, let’s go prepare the cake. And could I trouble you to switch off the lights, Tucker?” Ruby asked.

“Of course. It’s time to blow out the candles and the birthday girl shouldn’t do any work,” Tucker said as he noticed Ruby about to get up to help.

“Alright, then. It’s over there.” She pointed out the light switch to him.

“Flynn, be patient, okay? We’ll be having cake in just a moment,” Ruby said to the only child at the party.

“Yes,” Flynn replied, his eyes half-closed with drowsiness.

Tucker turned off the lights and sat beside the birthday girl. In five minutes, Nina and Amber entered with the lit cake, and everyone sang together.

Upstairs, away from the party, a young man cracked open his window. ‘A birthday?’ He watched the partygoers, recognizing everyone but one unfamiliar woman. Chris recalled that Ruby’s birthdays had always troubled him; she would pester him for gifts, which irritated him.

When the song ended, Ruby blew out the candles. The lights turned back on, and she cut the first slice for her mother. Hearing her mother’s blessing, she smiled. After dividing the cake, she set aside three pieces for the neighbors, as planned.

“Take it over now, Ruby. If it gets any later, they’ll all be asleep,” Amber quickly reminded her daughter.

“Want me to go with you, Ruby?” Nina offered right away.

“That sounds good.”

“We’ll be right back. Auntie, Tucker, please enjoy the cake,” Nina said, already aware of her best friend’s worries. People said Ruby had few friends in high school due to her difficult personality, but Nina had always seen her sincerity. Nina also knew about Chris.

“Do you still feel something when you see Chris, Ruby?” Nina asked casually as they walked.

“Maybe a little,” Ruby admitted honestly.

“Well, your houses are right next to each other. There’s no escaping him. I think once your Chris gets married, you’ll finally be able to let go.”

“I suppose so,” Ruby said, sounding unconvinced, as if she still hadn’t come to terms with it.

Nina was the one who pressed the doorbell. Soon, the elderly housemaid hurried over to open the door. The moment Penny saw the cake in Ruby’s hands, she immediately understood why she had come.

“Please come in, Ms. Johnson.”

“Thank you, Penny. I brought a birthday cake for Paula. It’s only eight o’clock, so I thought she wouldn’t be asleep yet.”

“Not yet. Mrs. Simmons and Chris are still watching TV.”

“So could I trouble you to give this to her?” Just hearing Chris’s name already made Ruby feel uneasy.

“Ruby, that’s rude. Give it to her yourself. What are you afraid of?” Nina quickly cut in because she thought her best friend was doing the wrong thing.

“True.”

“I’m Nina Greens, Penny. I’m Ruby’s friend,” Nina quickly introduced herself.

“I agree, Miss Greens. Miss Johnson , you must give it to Miss Simmons with your own hands. That would be proper.”

“Fine, Nina. Come with me then.”

“I won’t. It’s your birthday, Ruby. You should go in by yourself. I’ll just wait outside,” Nina waved her hand at her friend. She didn’t want to step into the suffocating atmosphere, so she chose to stand and wait outside.

So Ruby had to walk into the house alone, carrying the cake box in her hands. Chris saw her first, but he said nothing and acted indifferent, as if he were not surprised at all.

“Hello, Paula, Chris.” She raised her hand to greet them both, though awkwardly, because she was holding the cake box.

“Come in, Ruby. I thought I heard birthday music, and I just learned from Chris that today is your birthday.”

“I only heard the music and saw the lights,” Chris quickly explained, afraid Ruby might think he actually remembered her birthday.

“It really is my birthday, Paula. We just blew out the candles, so I brought some cake for you and Chris. I also saved a piece for Theo. I brought three slices.” She sat down, moved a little closer, and offered the cake box to Paula.

“You are really… Ruby, it’s your birthday, and you didn’t even invite me and my sons. You make us feel like strangers,” Paula scolded lightly.

“I didn’t want to trouble you, Paula. I know you all work so hard, so I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“What are you being so polite for? Ruby, nothing has changed between us. You can always come by just like before, when you used to crawl under the fence to play at my house. Now you don’t need to crawl anymore, just ring the doorbell at the front gate,” Paula told her warmly, then went on to give a long birthday blessing.

“Chris, give Ruby your birthday wishes, too.”

“Uh… sure,” Chris said. Ruby moved to sit close to him.

“May you be happy.” He gave a short blessing.

“Thank you, Chris.”

“Sit on the sofa first, Ruby. I have a gift for you.”

“Um, that’s not necessary, Paula.” She rejected politely but seemed impossible to turn down.

“No, no. Chris, go upstairs and bring me the blue box from the vanity drawer.”

“Yes, Mom.” Chris had no choice but to go up to the second floor as his mother ordered.

While Ruby was inside, in front of Paula’s house, Nina was swatting mosquitoes furiously. If she had known there would be so many, she would have gone inside with Ruby. She had thought it would take only a short while to deliver the birthday cake. But ten minutes had passed, and Ruby still had not come out.

Just then, as Nina waited, the headlights of a car suddenly shone on her face. The front gate opened as if someone had triggered it automatically. A sleek black sedan drove in slowly, passing right by her. The car stopped, then reversed back toward her. The window rolled down, revealing the driver’s face—one that left Nina completely stunned.

“Who are you? How did you get into my house?” Theo asked the girl who was standing alone, swatting at mosquitoes.

“Uh…” Nina scratched her head.

“Are you the new maid? Mom never said anything about hiring another maid.” Theo spoke as if answering his own thoughts. The one mistaken for a maid rolled her eyes to the side. What part of her outfit looked like a maid’s uniform? Or was it just because of the darkness that his eyesight betrayed him?

“Hey, why don’t you answer? Are you mute or something? I asked if you’re the new maid.”

“Yes, I am. It’s my first day at work.” Since he seemed so eager to think she was a maid, Nina decided to play along. She thought it would be fun to tease him.

“Then why are you standing here swatting mosquitoes?”

“I just came from the countryside. I’ve never seen such a big, luxurious house before, so I wanted to breathe in the air of the rich for once.” Nina adjusted her glasses and struck a dreamy pose for him to see.

“You’re crazy.” He shook his head and drove the car into the garage.