An Arranged Funeral for Two Jerks

Chapter 1

Chapter 1: A Not-So-Happy Birthday

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birtday dear Allie, Happy Birthday to you!"

The room broke out into applause and I felt heat rise to my face. Smiling, I bent down and blew out the candles on my homemade cake. Everyone clapped again, and I reached down to pick up Cameron. She reached out to grab the cake, but I stopped her. "No, that's for everyone, Cam. You'll get your piece in a minute."

She squirmed so I put her down to let her run around the room with her friends. She turned back to Connor, who was smilng and handing out pieces of cake for everyone. He handed the last one to her and gave her a quick kiss on the mouth. "So. Happy Twenty-Third Birthday! How's it feel to be an old woman?"

I smiled. "I am not old!"

He smirked and touched my hair. "Really? Because I think I see a gray hair right there..."

I gasped and held a spoon to my face. "Where! Oh my god, are you serious?" I turned back to Connor and punched him in the arm when I saw he was laughing. "You're so mean. And on my birthday?"

He smiled at me; then he reached down, grabbed some icing with his finger, and touched my on the nose with the same finger. I gasped and felt the cold icing touch my skin. In retaliation, I picked up his piece and smashed it into his face. He laughed and kissed my cheek, covering the side of my face covered with icing as well. We smiled at each other like idiots until we heard quick footsteps coming toward us. Cameron appeared below us, grinning and showing her two missing teeth. "Yes?" Connor asked, still smiling.

She tilted her head to the side and stared at us. "Why are you covered in icing?"

I smiled and smoothed her hair down. "Because Daddy is being silly today. What do you need?"

"Cake," she says softly.

I hand her my piece but hesitate before I let her take it. "What do we say?"

"Please and thank you!" I nod and she runs off to go sit back at the kids table. I turn back to Connor and wipe his face off with my napkin while he wipes of my face with his napkin.

"So what are we going to do today?"

I shrugged and leaned on his shoulder, my face now clean. "As I recall, we're in the middle of a party. So maybe go socialize?"

"I mean after the party. Cameron's going to a friend's house and Mark and Ryan volunteered to babysit the baby."

I looked up. "Can they handle Seth all on their own? He's only four months old."

Connor nodded. "They'll be fine! They're two grown men watching one four month old baby. What's the worst that could happen?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. But ever since he was born I feel like something bad might happen to him. It was never like that with Cameron, even now that she's almost four."

Connor stood up, pulling me up with him. "Seth will be fine. Now, let's go enjoy the party and we'll decide what to do after that when the time comes." He winks at me and I hug him tightly. We walk back out to the living room together and Mark runs up to hug me, holding a sleeping Seth. "He was crying for you earlier, but he's settled down now. After a diaper change, that is."

"You're the best, you know that?" He smiled and walked back out to find Ryan. I stood at the doorway watching everyone mingling and chatting and find myself remembering what I found out this morning. And what I was suppossed to tell Connor. I waved him over and he breaks away from a conversation with his frineds, Tim, Paul, and Jerry.

"Yeah?"

"Um, hey, I meant to tell you something. I'ts kind of impotant." 

"Okay. What's wrong, are you okay?" Connor looked at me with worried eyes. Before I could say anything, i heard the phone ring. 

"Sorry, I'll be right back." He nodded and I rushed to the kitchen to pick  up the phone. There's more people in there, and I waved quickly as I answer the phone. "Hello?"

"Allison Danielson? My name is Kelly White, do you have time to talk?"

"Sure, let me just go somewhere a little quiter." I went from room to room, trying to find somewhere with no people; not surprisingly, they're all full. Even the nursery had people in it, since Mark put Seth back in his crib. I finally gave up and walked outside to the front porch. "Okay, what is this about?"

"I work at the hospital downtown. I have some bad news. Are you sitting down?" she asked in a calm and unemotional voice.

Pictures of people I love flashed through my head: Cathie and Jennifer, Mark and Ryan, Connor, Cameron, and Seth. Then I remember that they're all here today. "Yes."

She paused. "I'm very sorry to tell you that your parents are dead."

I gasped and almost dropped the phone. Dead? No. My parents can't be dead. They're not even sixty yet. How can they be dead? And on my brithday? 

But no. None of those thoughts popped into my head. Well, they did later on. But the very first thought that popped into my head was that song from the Wizard of Oz, "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead."

Which is totally sick, I know. But that's what popped into my head. "You're kidding," I said after a long pause.

"I'm sorry. They were in a car accident today and a semi ran into their car. They died almost instantly. We're going to need you to come down an identify the bodies."

"O-okay. I'll be right down." I hung up the phone quickly. I stood unmoving for a moment before I ran back into the house. "Connor!"

He slowly came walking to the front door holding Seth in his arms. "What's up?" When he saw my pale face and crazy eyes, he ran over to me and touched my face. "Are you okay? What happened?"

I held the phone out to him and tried to swallow, but I couldn't. After a few seconds, I finally found my voice again.

"My parents are dead."

*****

Okay, what do you guys think?? Allison has two kids now, she has a secret she needs to tell connor, and her parents died on her birthday. how's that for a first chapter?! haha i hope you guys enjoy it!! i know how much you hate those parents, and i just couldn't stand to write about them anymore!! also, im going to change POV's in this book, but I'll stick with first person, like you guys asked. you've been really supportive of the first two books, i hope you love this one just as much!!! let's do another comment question, shall we?? What do you think Allison's secret is? Leave me a comment and I'll choose one of you to dedicate the next chapter to!! 

WRITE ON!

<3 SnazzyReader

ps. extra special thanks to BreAnnaLynn1497 for the wonderful cover!