Be Careful What You Wish For (PUBLISHED)

(2) - The Big Surprise

Ana couldn't help it; her heart did a flip-flop when she spied Dan at the coffee machine when she got to work on Monday. Despite all the pep talks and the promises over the weekend that she was going to make a change in her life, Ana seriously had no clue where to start. So she decided that in the meantime it would be a good idea to revert to the status quo.

“Hey Ana,” Dan perched on her desk and handed her a cup of steaming coffee, “It was really nice bumping into you last weekend.”

“Uuuhh…” Ana took a sip of her coffee to delay answering, “It was … it was nice meeting you and ...  Chiaki. Have you … have you been together long?” Dear lord, I cannot believe I asked him that, she thought hysterically.

“Oh, we’re not really together … we’re just enjoying going out,” Dan answered.

Ana’s heart started doing backflips; she still had a chance! She didn't realize she was in the middle of a highly realistic daydream involving Dan and the storage cabinet, when she noticed that he was looking at her expectantly. “Gomen! I’m sorry, did you just ask me something?”

“Let’s discuss it somewhere a bit more private,” He smiled, took her hand, and firmly pulled her out the door.

Ana almost fainted on the spot. Was this the moment all her fantasies came true? Did he realize he liked her more than he did Chiaki? She suddenly wished she hadn’t drank coffee or that she had one of those handy breath mints in her pocket; just like in the TV commercials.

Dan stopped at the door to the pantry, turned to her, and smiled, “Ana? You’re going to like this…”

“Oh really?” She leaned in slightly, closed her eyes, and waited.

The lights came on and party streamers suddenly burst from all sides. “Surprise! Happy birthday Ana-san!”

Ana felt like a bucket of ice water had just been poured over her head as her co-workers, garish paper party hats clashing with their pristine white lab coats, started singing. “Hapi Basudei tsu yu, hapi basudei tsu yu…”

Her two lab assistants offered up a sponge cake piled high with strawberries and cream. The cake bore a small candy plaque with the words “O Tanjoubi Omedetou Gozaimasu Ana-san!” in the middle. Three candles were aglow and she belatedly registered that she was supposed to blow them out. Everyone burst into applause.

“Do you like our surprise?” Tanaka, one of her lab assistants asked her, a slightly worried look on her face.

“I love it!” Ana reassured her and mustered up a genuine smile. “Arigatou. I just feel so overwhelmed at the moment.” Tanaka was prone to worry at the smallest thing. She was tall and lean, with short, cropped black hair and a serious demeanor. She was the very image of the lab assistant every researcher hoped to have.

“Happy birthday!” Ana turned as Nakano hugged her from behind. “Yokatta. We’re glad you liked it.” Nakano was every inch the kawaii Japanese female with long, curly caramel-colored locks, false eyelashes, and a fully made up face. Ana had once had reservations about her working style, but those fears were quickly dispelled when she saw how hard the girl worked. Appearances could indeed be deceiving.

“Sou desu ne. Yokatta. Happy birthday Ana-san!” Tanaka smiled in relief.

Ana hugged her two assistants, “Honto ni, arigatou!”

“It was really Sato-sensei’s idea,” Nakano told her.

“Do you like our surprise?” Dan asked.