21 || Happy Birthday
ONE MONTH LATER
"Kira! Yo, you ready yet?" Lee's voice beard as he bounded up the stairs. Without any preamble he slammed Trevor's bedroom door open.
"Come on, everyone's waiting downstairs."
Kira only hummed in reply, her grip on Trevor's messy dressing table light. Her reflection stared back at her in the mirror. It wasn't just the difference she had recently developed in her poise, but the brown smoky eyeshadow and highlighted cheekbones trapped Kira's gaze on herself. Further down, her eyes roved over her side braid and long white dress that ended at her knees. She stopped at her pretty white sandals.
"Are you seriously checking yourself out?" Lee taunted her. Kira didn't even bother looking at him and only shrugged before straightening up and blinking at herself. A stupid grin was growing on her face and she struggled to keep it low.
"It's not my birthday every day, you know."
He grunted in response, and gestured to his ratty baseball cap, Blue Jays T-shirt and beige shorts. "Even dressed for a game in the Rogers Centre I still look better than you do."
"You take that back!"
"In your dreams!"
Exhilaration rushed through her, the kind that was only felt when one experienced a piece of his or her childhood - may it even be yelling at a sibling. A safe feeling, of being pampered and cared for, snuck over Kira.
She pouted and stuck her tongue out at her younger brother and sighed before nudging past him out to the stairs that would lead her to the Moreno living room. Her grumbling stomach accompanied the symphony of butterflies that fluttered within her. She could already smell Uncle G's legen-wait-for-it-dary pancakes.
"I can't believe you won't let us organize a major event for you. Every single year, this girl crushes my hopes and dreams," said Auntie Em as Kira entered the kitchen. Pecking her cheek, she greeted, "Happy Birthday, nína!"
"Thank you, Auntie!" Her butterflies were long gone and she seated herself at the dining table. A deep inhale didn't help her grumbling stomach, however. It was long-lived, though, because her father quietly snuck up behind her, placing a plate of pancakes drizzles in maple syrup in front of her.
"Happy Birthday," he said and took the seat beside her.
This was all she wanted. The three F's - her beloved friends, family and food being the first thing she saw on her day of the year.
"Dig in, everybody! Birthday girl can do the honors," Uncle G winked at Kira and handed her a fork with a ribbon tied around it, making her grin even wider.
"God is great, God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. Amen. On your marks, get set, go!"
Thus began the most amusing traditional their families had ever participated in, and in the middle of her third plate of pancakes in the Great Birthday Eat-Off, Monique walked in with an array of s(n)ide comments.
"Oh, don't mind me... or the syrup on your nose."
"I think half your pancake just fell out of your mouth and onto your lap, Lee. Before you even ask, no, I'm not eating it, or anything else, off of you."
After that, Lee was choking too much to continue, and Auntie Em along with Kira were the only ones left.
"Go, Kira!"
"Baby, if you finish last I won't be the one finishing first tonight!"
"Key, if you finish last I'll buy you those new shoes for Christmas!"
"That's bribery, Lee!" Trevor broke in.
"These boys know nothing... Honey, if you finish before Kira I'll be the one licking the syrup at the very end!"
"Dad!" Groans echoed around the table at Uncle G's lewd comments.
"Okay, that totally killed my appetite, Uncle!" she cried indignantly and pushed her plate away before her dad could add anymore pancakes.
Lee and her father both groaned at her defeat, while Trevor and Uncle G gave each other high fives.
"If I look a bit green, I swear it's the - oh, goodness, I'm going to be sick." Auntie Em held a hand over her mouth delicately and the table watched on amusedly. "Excuse me, everyone."
Monique still had a constipated look on her face, and Kira had to laugh even if it meant her hefty stomach would stretch with each breath. "I so sympathize with pregnant women now," she moaned.
Her friend could have taken her outstretched hand and helped her stand up but no, she just laughed in Kira's face. "Get your fat glutes up, we're going on a spa date I reserved for us before dinner tonight!"
Kira's eyes widened at the mention of more food. "Ugh, and dad's cooking, too! Damn it, I'll have to miss that unless I can digest all this before tonight."
With a small shrug and humph, Monique picked up her purse and keys, walking to the door before Kira could even stand.
"Wait for me!"
"Sure, I'll wait... Like you did before eating twenty-four pancakes!"
Kira glowered at the empty space Monique had preoccupied. "Twenty-three. But who's counting?"
◄▼►◄▼►◄▼►◄▼►
So. Much. Relaxation. Why don't I do this more often? Kira chastised herself.
"We should totally do this more often," said Monique. They were lying side by side on laid-back chairs with cucumbers covering their eyes and their hands and feet soaking in warm water. A masseuse worked out the kinks in her back beneath the towel on her back.
"It's been going so great, thank you so much for your help with the expansion plans, Mon," she said gratefully with a sigh of indulgence as her masseuse hit a particularly tense part of her shoulder.
Shifting her head to the opposite side, Kira removed the cucumbers from her eyes and stared at the too-bright lights of the salon being reflected in the linoleum floor. Everything was white from her view.
"You're welcome," Monique hummed in response and for a moment Kira almost slipped off to dreamland before Monique jerked her awake with her next question.
"How's West?" she asked, peeling off one cucumber as she turned her head to face Kira.
"He's good."
"Good?"
"Yeah. Good."
"But?"
There was always a but with her and West, it seemed, Kira mentally sighed.
"I mean, when he left we were Skyping pretty regularly. But then I guess one of us or both of us just got busy or just disinterested." She shrugged as much as she could lift her shoulder while the thin girl with lithe and nimble fingers dug into her scapula.
"How long has it been since you last talked?"
"About a week? He had many business meetings, pitching his joshanda tea, and I had a few new summer clients."
"Aren't you good at making excuses?"
Feeling a bit stunned, Kira stopped her reply from being scathing. "It wasn't like we had defined our relationship or anything. And what do two people talk about from across the world?"
"You know, if you actually look at a globe, you'll notice that the North American continent is closer to the Eurasian lands, so technically it should take lesser time to go straight backwards than it should to go across all the other continents - oh my gosh why don't planes just do that instead?"
"Monique."
"Airplane tickets should be so much cheaper."
"Monique."
She stopped, her eyes coming back into focus as she gave Kira a lopsided grin. "Oops. But as I was saying... what was I saying?"
It surprisingly took a different amount of effort to roll her eyes when Kira hung her head upside down, but she did it anyways.
"I don't know how Alex lives with you, girl."
"Right... So it's quite clear you guys are made for each other. First love doesn't have to be the one to give heartbreak and pave the way for a newer, more experienced you."
Kira knew she was right. "I don't know. He's been so uncharacteristically distant.. both literally and figuratively. And honestly? It's not so easy to feel okay about it. I've grown out of needing him to the point where my happiness depends on it... But it's nice to coexist with someone you love, in a symbiotic relationship. That's what we had. But now I'm going back to that dark place that was where he broke me... And as thankful I am that I had to go through that, I can't just shut my feelings off."
"You don't have to, hun. You don't have to do anything. If you and him both want to fight for this long distance whatever, go for it. When is he coming back?"
"I don't know," Kira said softly. She straightened up at the masseuse's orders, and the blood in her body rushed to it's respective roles as she faced Monique. "And even when he does... Who's to say he'll still be my West?"
Monique fluffed her hair before cocking her head. "Who's to say you're still the same Kira?"
She could only be silent after that. Still, feeling much lighter than she had been when she came, Kira smiled. Wiggling her toes, she asked, "Red nailpolish, or red nailpolish?"
Monique gave a little smirk. "But was there ever a choice, ma cherie?"
◄▼►◄▼►◄▼►◄▼►
The evening breeze tickled Kira's toes in her open-toe flats as she walked up the stairs to the Moreno house. Knocking once, she turned the doorknob but found that it was locked. Frowning, she took out her phone from her purse and dialed Lee.
"Hey. I thought everyone was meeting up for dinner tonight?" A grumble from her stomach asserted her words.
"Yeah, yeah. Erm, just a change of venue, Dad said he's more comfortable with "chopping his chops" in our house instead."
Kira nodded understandably. "Alright, I'll be there in five."
Her sound system played "Ain't No Sunshine" at a very low volume, and it was a more-or-less silent drive to her own home. Parking beside Uncle G's car, she followed the sprouting tulips and freesias up to her doorstep. Deftly turning the key in the lock, Kira blinked at what was her living room bathed in shadows before all the lights turned on.
"Surprise! Happy Birthday!"
Kira felt like her smile would break her cheeks, and although not an easily shocked person, she held a hand to her fluttering heart. Before her stood not just her family, friends, and the Morenos, but other coworkers, acquaintances and even clients. The house was decorated with streamers in pink and blue, and multicolored balloons adorning the walls and pillars separating her kitchen and living room.
"I know, I know. I told your dad that it's a mix between a baby shower and the funeral of a rainbow, but he was adamant. As your best friend, I tried," Monique said from behind her. The two girls hugged and laughing, Kira shook her head.
"I can't believe you guys threw me a party," she said with disbelief after she greeted all of her guests and accepted many birthday wishes and guests.
"We just wanted you to be the one at the receiving end for a change," Amy and Marvin said together. They both jumped as if a shock had run through their bones before awkwardly shifting in their shoes and smiling shyly at each other.
Kira caught Monique's eye and they both shared an evil grin. Monique was so into it, with her wiggling eyebrows and pointy smile that Kira laughed to the point where she actually snorted. Thankfully, the two kids hadn't noticed them.
"Everybody, it's time for dinner!" Auntie Em called from the kitchen. Delightful smells wafted through the air.
"I can almost see those lamb chops in my plate, then in my mouth, then on the X-ray of my stomach they'll have to take once they have to admit me to the hospital for over-eating," Trevor groaned.
Lee pulled two chairs out for her and Monique, and they sat down at the head of the table. He plopped down a party hat on her head.
"You're kidding me!" Kira didn't know whether to laugh or bang her head on to the table. She decided she was more amused than anything.
Her father set the table, giving her warning glances every time she attempted to help. "Arigato, otosan," she whispered as her father took a seat beside her. He patted her hand with crinkled eyes in return.
It was a lively dinner, and there were many toasts to Joyful Planners, and many embarrassing recounts of Kira's childhood. She barely stopped Auntie Em from breaking out in a fit of tears over the baby albums Lee had brought out to tease her. The albums might very well have been the reason for the venue change, Kira couldn't help but wonder darkly. She would get her revenge.
An hour passed by after dinner and the cutting of the cake, and although it seemed she was too old for birthday games and themed parties, she was still going to have to open her presents and thank everyone right then.
But something surprising happened.
"This present is mine, and I got you a new sound system for the truck," said Lee, showing her a gift box wrapped in blue before setting it aside.
"I got you movie tickets to the Minions movie," said Winry, with a smug grin from Jo.
"We pitched in and got you a beautiful necklace and charm bracelet from Tiffany's, just like your mother's," Auntie Em said, gesturing to her husband and son.
"I got you a makeup set."
"I got you that dress you were eyeing at Eaton Centre."
One by one, everyone showed her their gift boxes or bags before setting them aside. She didn't even have a chance to say thank you properly before they said their goodbyes, thank yous for the splendid dinner and party, and left out the door.
Stunned, Kira stared at Monique. "Okay, what the heck just happened?"
The elders in the room just smiled at her. "We'll be heading home now, mi amor," Auntie Em said before kissing her forehead. Uncle G and Trevor both gave her hugs and weird smiles. Kira honestly felt like she had stepped into a time warp.
When her father and Lee walked back into the kitchen with their overnight bags, she had had enough. Kira stood up and barred the doorway, a baffled expression on her face. "Am I missing something? Is everything okay? What's going on?"
Again with the weird smiles, they just shook their heads at her. "Happy Birthday, Ki-chan," her father said, and shoved Lee past her out the door before her brother could say a word.
Bordering on the levels of all kinds of crazy, she looked helplessly at the only person left, cleaning up some of the mess left behind with all the unwrapped presents and cake dishes. "Mon, what the hell is going on?" Her heart drilled against her ribcage as her friend slowly walked up to her.
Monique only picked up her purse from the arm of Kira's unoccupied chair and pecked her on the cheek as she neared the front door. "Kira..."
"Yes?" What was she feeling? Confusion for the most part, but there was something in her gut, a strange sense of the helplessness at the edge of a cliff, the soaring of the birds in the sky...
Monique also passed by her into the cool night air. She turned and tilted her head while giving her friend a coy smile.
"There's someone waiting for you in the backyard."
◄▼►◄▼►◄▼►◄▼►
omg i made the mistake of saying West was leaving the day after the wedding, it was actually the day of omg
also apologies for the crappy writing
also a lot of you either think Kira is mean or weak, lemme explain her POV: she sacrificed a lot for her family, and honor means something to her culture and obviously it hurt to see her brother get something so easily and so she lashed out at West who she blamed for just handing him the job. I purposely made her irrational bc I wanted to show how she's not perfect, and 100% human.
however she was right in deserving an apology, and in realizing that she wanted to be herself without West.
they both had a lot to grow independently, and they couldn't do that together :)
ALSO there were many of you interested for the one-shot competition!! I am excited to post the rules next week :)
NEXT INSTALLMENT IS THE EPILOGUE, SO STAY TUNED SINCE ITS ALREADY WRITTEN MY STUPID ARSE JSUT NEEDS TO EDIT AND FORMAT IT ILYYY
love you guys tons, xoxo
ayesha