We reached home shortly afterward (I mean Xaviers' Bungalow, I don't exactly remember since when I had started calling it 'home'). Jonas carried the shopping bags upstairs while I went to get Bruno from Mrs. Arabella's house. Kelvin had called Jonas to inform him that he would be dropping Bruno at her house before leaving for the bureau in the morning. I couldn't thank Mrs. Arabella enough for taking such great care of Bruno every single time. He seemed to be so fond of her now that he wasn't even willing to come to me at first.

"He's probably mad at me for leaving him so often," I joked.

Mrs. Arabella laughed as Bruno eventually bounced towards me a couple of minutes later.

"I'm too overwhelmed with happiness about your and Sophia's reconciliation," she rejoiced.

"I'm assuming that I owe you a thanks for carrying out the secret mission of informing mom about me," I chuckled.

We stood there for almost ten minutes, conversing wholeheartedly.

"I'm so sorry for not recognizing you though, Aunt Bella," I said towards the end.

"It feels good to hear Aunt Bella from you again," she smiled.

I smiled back before climbing upstairs. I freshened up and took a shower before getting to work. It was time to bake the cake!

"Look Amy, the cake's fluffing!" Jonas exclaimed, peering through the oven in front of him.

"But June, don't you smell something burning?" I asked, sniffing a burning smell.

I attempted to tie up the balloon I had just blown (let's not mention that it burst in the process) and went to check. As expected, the cake had burned at the edges.

I glared at Jonas, blowing out air in vexation.

"Never mind, it was the first try," he muttered with an innocent look, trying his best to gain my sympathy.

"It's already 6, where do we get another cake now?"

"Guess what, I bought two cake mix as a backup," he grinned, displaying another packet in his hands.

"So you were sure that it was going to burn," I teased.

"I mean, we should be prepared for the worst," he laughed away.

"And what if Kelvin returns home before we finish planning our surprise?" I questioned, crossing my arms.

"Wait, I've got a plan for that."

He scurried to his room and returned a couple of minutes later after making a phone call. He had called someone named Mr. Frank, Kelvin's associate detective in the bureau, and asked him to keep Kelvin busy with work till 11:30.

Smart plan indeed.

We quickly prepared a fresh cake batter with the second cake mix. I took the duty of guarding the cake in the oven now while Jonas took over the decoration part. A persistent aroma wafted across the room as soon as I opened the oven door this time. The chocolate fudge cake was in its best shape!

"Now that's what you call a cake!" Jonas remarked, sniffing the scent.

I grinned with pride as I began working on the chocolate frosting.

"What should I write on the cake?" I asked after I was done covering the cake in a thick layer of chocolate icing.

"Happy Birthday Angry Young Man," he cackled from the veranda.

"Perfect," I mocked along as I patterned the writings with white whipped cream on the top.

"If that Angry Young Man shows his temper today as well, I swear I'm going to kill him," I commented.

"I wonder how many times you both have already killed each other in your minds," Jonas jested.

"Pretty sure my counter has a higher value than his," I bantered.

I stored the cake in the refrigerator, careful not to let the frosting smudge by the tiniest bit in any possible way, and scampered to the veranda to see June's decorations. The veranda was packed all the way with blue and white balloons with white fairy lights tangled up around the railings. Bruno was springing merrily in the midst. Simple, yet so beautiful.

"I'll go and get ready," I informed Jonas after praising his decorations, even though half of it was done by me.

I decked up in the new dress that Jonas had gifted me. The front part extended to my knees while the back part dropped to my feet. My collar bones were covered by a thin mesh of net. I brushed my brunette waves and left them dangling on my shoulders, the tips of my hair reflecting amber highlights. I looked at my bare face in the washroom mirror; I really wished I had some makeup with me. My look was too pale for my dress. The scars on my forehead and left arm were still somewhat visible, although almost faded.

I found my phone beeping on my bed when I came out of the washroom. It was mom's call. We talked for about an hour; she wouldn't just cut the call. Well, I didn't want to either.

I trotted out of the room after disconnecting the call to find Jonas in navy blue suspenders with a white shirt underneath. He resembled a ten years old child in that. Too cute a brother I had.

"Hey Amy, you look pretty in that dress," he rhapsodized seeing me.

"But I don't have any makeup," I grieved.

I could never imagine dressing up without makeup for a party back at Valdez Mansion.

"Oh come on Amy, don't be a typical girl now. You don't need makeup, you know," he simpered, pulling my cheeks.

Well now that it was quite a while since I had been sharing a house with two guys, I was indeed a lot less girly now. Won't deny the fact that getting over insecurities about your looks helps you a lot from being unsatisfied with yourself. The less you bother about how you're looking, the less uneasy you feel to be happy, and the more content your heart is.

I didn't know why such philosophical thoughts were popping in my mind all of a sudden, but it felt like I was gradually learning to accept myself the way I was, without any artificiality. Life might have been way different in Valdez Mansion, but that didn't essentially mean that it was the best one. I loved the way I was living now, although I might as well label it as the worst phase of my life.

It was already 10 o'clock by the time we finished the final touch up of our surprise. The balcony appeared a lot more glamorous now. All the other lights in the house were turned off so that the only luminous source was the veranda. White fairy lights glinted in the darkness, spotlighting the birthday cake which was kept on a table enveloped by a sapphire blue tablecloth. The cake was hemmed in by rose petals and scented candles (Jonas had stealthily whipped some flowers from Mrs. Arabella's collection in the lawn). Packets of chips and bottles of beverages were stuffed in a corner of the veranda while Bruno relaxed comfortably on one of the cushions we had stowed in the other corner. Jonas had combed the puppy's fur and even tied a bow around his neck!

My baby was the cutest fluff ball ever.

Jonas and I spent a lot of time on selecting the songs for playing. He even imitated some hook steps in his own witty way, to which I couldn't stifle my eruption of laugher. We had already wolfed down two large packets of Doritos and a bottle of Coca Cola by the time it was 11.

"Amy, say cheese!" he squeaked out of nowhere.

Before I knew what was happening, he had already snapped a candid picture of me gulping down a handful of Doritos with serious care.

"Memories," he giggled. "I'll tease you with these when you grow up."

I grabbed my phone and clicked an embarrassing shot of Jonas with his thirty-two teeth wide open.

"Now we're equal," I noted with a grin.

"Fine fine," he sighed, accepting defeat.

"Anyways, I guess it's time to order the pizza," he spotlighted enthusiastically as he took out his phone.

Ding dong.

The doorbell rang. Jonas and I stared at each other in alarm. Was Kelvin back already?

We approached the main door with full preparation, and Jonas cautiously peeped through the door hole to confirm.

"Mrs. Arabella," he notified me, suspiring in relief.

As if almost coincidentally, we opened the door to find Mrs. Arabella holding a pan containing a prodigious Pizza Margherita!

"Sophia told me it's Xaviers' birthday today," she smiled.

"Since you kids are having a party, I thought of baking a pizza for you all."

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Arabella, we were just about to order a pizza!" Jonas squealed.

"Why don't you join us, Aunt Bella?" I asked, offering her an invitation.

"What will I do at your youngster party?" she laughed.

"Do send me a piece of cake tomorrow morning though. Will judge your baking skills," she mentioned with a wink before leaving.

My opinions about her had taken a great turn recently. I loved that lady.

"Thank god she didn't accept the invitation, it would have been so boring if she joined!" Jonas commented after locking the door again.

"She's your mom's best friend and she cooks for you thrice a day," I reminded, smacking him on the shoulder.

"You could have said that without the blow, you bitch!" he yelped, rubbing his shoulder.

Did he just call me bitch-?

The honk of a car grasped our attention before I could quarrel back. I glanced at the clock; it was 11:45.

Kelvin must be here.

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