CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: ATHENA

Sophia arrived late last night, so I let her sleep in. So by 10 a.m., I sneaked into her room to serve her breakfast which included a stack of pancakes with maple syrup and a glass of orange juice, as well as a small birthday card beside her pancakes.

I placed the tray on her bedside table, sat on the bed, and yelled "happy birthday Sophia!" She woke up, rubbed her eyes, and sat up in her bed.

"Aren't you a little old for this, Honey?" she asked, a small smile on her face.

"No, I made you breakfast, so go brush your teeth, I have a big day planned for you," I said, trying to contain my excitement about what I had planned for us.

"Can't I just sleep in like I always do?" she grumbled, trying to go back to bed.

"Nope, we have to celebrate because you only turn 27 once."

"Wow, gosh, I'm old," she sighed audibly as she rolled out of bed and walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth. I served her pancakes after she came out of the bathroom and sat back down on the bed.

"Thank you for breakfast, honey; even though you do it every birthday, it is very thoughtful."

"Read your card," I yelled, which made her laugh because I do it every year.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOPHIA

I want to wish you a wonderful day today, my dear aunt. My life would not have been as wonderful if it hadn't been for you and all of the wonderful memories I have of us together.

Love Athena

"This is beautiful, thank you, love, I love you so much," Sophia said through tears.

"No tears on your special day, aunt Sophia, and I love you too."

"so, on the agenda for the day, we're having lunch by two at Rudy's, then we're going to the movies to see two of your favourite movies, then we're going star grazing, and finally we're going to come home and cut your birthday cake."

"What flavour of cake?"

"It's a surprise, just wait and see; now eat your breakfast, the birthday girl needs to look cute for her special day."

I left her alone to eat her breakfast, then dressed her in a pair of black skinny jeans, a blue off-the-shoulder crop top, and a pair of black pumps for our lunch date.

We arrived at Rudy's at 2:30 because Sophia said she wanted to be fashionably late. Rudy had planned a small surprise party for her on short notice after I told her the day before, but Sophia is unaware of this.

When we entered the diner, everyone jumped out of their hiding spots and yelled, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOPHIA!"

"Oh my gosh, thank you so much, did Athena put you all up to this?"

"No, this is all Rudy's idea," I explained.

"Thank you so much, Rudy; you're going to make me cry," she said, fanning her eyes to keep the tears at bay. She went around hugging everyone and thanking them.

"It's nothing, Sophia, we just wanted to thank you for taking care of our little Angel right here," Rudy said as she engulfed her in a hug.

"I do my best, even if she drives me insane sometimes."

"That's teenagers for you; now come and take your seat; Barney has prepared your favourite, chicken pot pie, and for dessert, a chocolate and strawberry Sundae."

"Thank you, Barney." "Nothing but the best for you, my dear Sophia," Barney said as he kissed her cheek.

Sophia and I sat down for lunch, and when we finished, everyone gave her their individual gifts: Sarah got her a bottle of her favorite perfume, Rudy got her a new pair of work shoes, and Barney got her scented oils to relax after work.

"I can't thank you all enough, you made today really special for me"

"It's not over yet, Athena has a lot more installed for you today" Sarah mentioned and my grin grew wider, I was excited for everything else

"She couldn't stop talking about it, Barney, thank you for lunch, it was lovely,"

"It's my pleasure."

After we said our goodbyes, we went to the movies to see the movies I had purchased tickets for. The first movie we saw was Me Before You, which Sophia adores, so when I found out it was playing the week of her birthday, I was overjoyed.

We got our popcorn and candy before going into the cinema, and the movie lasted about two hours before we went to see the next one, which was a scary movie called The Nun, which was creepy as fuck.

A man approached us as we were about to leave the theatre. He looked to be in his early thirties.

"My name is Stephen, and you are you?" He asked with a smile. He is quite handsome, to be honest, he is dressed in a pair of black joggers, a blue t-shirt, and a pair of black 720 Nikes sneakers.

"My name is Sophia, and this is Athena. Nice to meet you."

"It's my pleasure, you may have heard this line before, but you are really beautiful," Stephen said smirking,

"Yeah I have, but it sounds better coming from you," Sophia said smiling at him, tucking a stray hair behind her hair, oh my gosh she was flirting,

"Bye Stephen, Sophia, I'll wait by the car," I said

"It's good to see you, Athena." Stephen waved me goodbye with a smile.

"Same here," I said as I exited the cinema and made my way to my car.

Thirty minutes later, Stephen and Sophia walked out of the cinema smiling, hugging before parting ways; when Sophia entered the car, I smiled at her.

"What Athena?" she asked, a grin on her face, "So what happened, did you get his number?" I asked

"He was a gentleman, he asked if he could see me again so we exchanged numbers," she explained, and I couldn't help but smile; it had been a long time since she had dated, so I was happy for her.

"Good that guy is handsome, damn," I said as Sophia smacked me on the arm and we drove towards the park for our next event, stargazing.

I'd never seen her this happy before, and I hoped they both worked out. When we arrived at the park, she packed the car and we got down, locking the door behind us before entering the park.

We came to a stop where we could see the star well, so I laid the blanket I brought from home on the floor, and we both lay on it, staring up into the sky.

"Today was fantastic, Athena; thank you for everything you did today."

"I wanted today to be special for you because you've been working so hard, so I thought you deserved something nice today."

"Thank you very much, Honey."

"We have one thing left on your agenda before the day is done: cutting your cake, which is, by the way, already at home."

"You're still refusing to tell me what flavour it is."

"Yes, you just have to wait."

We both stared at the stars for a while before heading home. I was delighted she had a good day. When we got home around 10 p.m., we both took a quick shower and changed into our nightgowns.

I left my room early to bring the cake out and put the candles on it, then I went to get her from her room, covering her eyes until we got to the kitchen and I started singing.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, happy birthday to you, make a wish"

She blew out the candles and made her wish, "what did you wish for?"

"It's a secret now let's eat cake, I dying to see what flavour you got me"

"I thought I could mix all your favourite cake flavours into one cake, so I mixed vanilla, chocolate, red velvet, and strawberry, I hope you like it," I said after cutting the cake in half and she looked like she was about to cry.

"I don't like it," she said

"oh!" I mumbled as I stared at the cake, feeling a bit bump out

"No dear you didn't let me finish, I don't like it, I love it, it beautiful love thank you so much,"

"I also got you something; it's not expensive, but what matters is the thought," I said, feeling relieved that she liked the cake.

I gave her the gift, and she opened it and smiled once she saw what it was, "this is beautiful love,".

I engraved her and my names on a locket. Both sides of the heart locket bore the names. She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me in for a hug

"Thank you, Athena, for making this the best birthday ever."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it; now let's eat cake."

We went to bed after finishing our meal and putting the leftover cake in the fridge. I'm curious about going back to school, and how Leo would react if he saw me before I fell asleep.