old soul | matthew gray gubler

47. a story of bananas

"this is the best birthday. ever!"

charlotte bounced on her heels, squeezing matthew's hand tightly in her own. he grinned down at her with pride and swung their hands between them gleefully.

"that makes my heart so full," he replied, bending slightly at the waist to kiss her cheek. "and it's not even close to being over."

charlotte looked to him with pursed lips and narrowed eyes, "oh, reaaaaaally?"

he peered down at her, a brow quirked. "really. you think all i would do for your birthday is take you to barnes and noble?"

"i mean, that's a pretty good birthday. i'd be happy if it was over now."

"puh-lease!" matthew scoffed. "this is the first birthday we've ever gotten to celebrate together. it's gotta be amazing. top dollar."

"no, please don't spend a bunch of money. we can have a good birthday with zero dollars," charlotte protested.

"charlie," matthew paused in the parking lot, pulling her to a stop. she looked to him intently, listening as he said, "shut up."

her features dropped in surprise, but matthew just laughed and pulled them further. "let's goooooo!"

he drove them home- to charlotte's home- with two bags full of books in the back seat. they'd bought a mystery murder game as well and charlotte was insisting they go home and start it right away. but, matthew knew that everybody she loved was waiting to surprise. the murder mystery game could wait.

when he pulled into the driveway, charlotte noticed the extra cars parked along the street. "i guess the andersons are having a christmas party. strange."

matthew hummed in response, "that is strange. aren't they, like, a million years old? are they partying with their ghost friends?"

"that's mean," charlotte whined a little, laughing nonetheless. "speaking of christmas parties, i don't know if i want to do mine this year."

matthew furrowed his brows, flicking the turn signal to pull into the driveway. "isn't that, like, a big tradition for you from your grandma?"

charlotte shrugged, "yeah, but. i don't know. can't really party with a baby in your belly."

"well, i beg to differ," matthew scoffed, again. "you don't lose any sense of fun just because you're a mother now."

"society thinks differently," she said, insecurely.

"and when have we ever cared about society?" matthew flicked her off with the wave of his hand.

charlotte giggled in agreement. matthew hopped out to open her door. when he did so, she responded, "well, then, i'll email everybody. i'll be a little late, but oh, well."

they stepped up on the porch, the light flickering on when it detected them. matthew opened the door for her, motioning with his hand for her to go before him. she thanked him with a sweet smile and patted his chest as she walked in.

"ugh, it's so dark in here," she turned on the foyer light and slipped off her boots. matthew kicked his vans next to hers, and helped her shimmy out of her gray zip up. he hung it on the coat rack, along with his corduroy blazer.