Rêveries

Chapter 84.

We cut the cake and then we went back to our seats we had during dinner. Arthur and I sat down first and I just leaned my elbows on the table and started poking the stupid cake. Arthur was not eating it either. We just looked to be having a great time as the tables filled with people again.

"Je suis tellement désolé d'avoir dit quoi que ce soit," I'm so sorry for saying anything, Arthur said and I just shrugged. I wasn't even mad at him, I was more mad about having to be there when Charles was mad at me and I didn't know for how much longer he was going to be my boyfriend. He might as well go find someone who will fly all over the world with him so that they can spend time together every damn day.

"Je ne suis pas en colère," I'm not angry, I replied.

"Le gâteau a dit Thurthur et tu n'as même pas remarqué," The cake said Thurthur and you didn't even notice, he said. I chuckled and shook my head, because I saw Charles approaching with his plate of cake, and he sat down on the other side of me without even glancing over.

When Evie and Pierre sat down, he started speaking to them, and if family members came over to take a picture of us or something, he'd put his hand on my thigh or something to make it seem like absolutely nothing was wrong. Even when he's with his own family he's practicing his media training. The only people who noticed anything were Evie and Pierre, sitting closest to us. But Pierre couldn't understand why, so it seemed like Charles hadn't told him.

We didn't have to sit there for long, but I turned my back towards Charles when I poured more alcohol into my drink. He didn't notice this time. I got tipsy, and then I was dragged away by my mother again. She sat me down by the gift table and announced that it was time to open our birthday gifts. Considering Charles' birthday is the day after, people had gifts for him too, and he was seated by the table with Arthur and I and we were all handed gifts with our names on them.

Lewis gave me some really nice, high fashion clothes, which could be expected from him. Daniel gave me whiskey and ended up in a conversation about whiskey with my dad. I got a whole lot of books from people who don't know much else about me other than that I love to read. I got some jewelry, regular kitchen utensils, nice towels, blankets and very grown up things. Max had a gift for me and Charles together this year, so we went over to open it together, where Charles pretended that everything was fine again.

When we opened it, our chins nearly fell to the ground. The first thing I thought about was that he had gotten a frame that fitted my color scheme at home, whether that was intentional or not, it was appreciated. The picture in the frame was actually a photo that Evie had sent to Max during our vacation to Mykonos, that had been hand painted. It was Charles, Pierre, Evie and I on the boat together, that she had sent to Max during the trip. The painting was beautiful, and Max looked so proud of how happy we were with it.

Charles opened my gifts. The first one was just a box of everything he's said that he needs at home. Like more socks, a new traveling toothpaste, a new cologne and some other basic things. The other thing I gave him was another watch where the background was just a photo of us to make it a little more special than his other watches. He chuckled with a little smile when he opened it and it made me feel a bit better.

Arthur and Charles got two very special gifts from their mother. She wanted them to open them together, and I watched both of them tear up on either side of me, as Charles was given his father's watch, and Arthur got a chain that Hervé used to wear a lot. It got sentimental very quickly, and there were long hugs exchanged. I thought it was over and I could pretty much hide somewhere for forty minutes and then leave, but Charles came up to me with a box.

"Tu pourrais en fait vouloir me gifler pour ça," You might actually want to slap me for this, he said when he placed the little box in my hands.