Happy Birthday Rebecca (part 1)

The most challenging part was finding open supermarkets. In fact, Ken and Lisa had to go to the nearest town, where they saw that the flood was much calmer. And even in this case, the nearest supermarket was about to close, and they had very little time to get everything they needed.

Back in town, they immediately headed to Rebecca's apartment, and she was more than shocked when she saw them at her door.

"Good evening, ma'am... and Ken... what are you doing here?"

"We came to pick you up, of course-" Seeing her teary eyes, Ken approaches her face, almost touching their noses, to not be heard by his mom, who has a shocked and smug expression.

"Did you cry?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Why?"

"I-I don't think it's the right time to talk about it..." She glances at Lisa behind Ken, and he finally steps away from her.

"Go ahead then! I'm leaving!"

"We're all leaving." He grabs Rebecca's hand and tries to drag her to the car, but she stops.

"What do you mean? There's a flood outside... How did you even get here...?"

"We have a car." Lisa grins, showing her the keys.

Ken grabs her hand again, and they get into the car.

"Why are you doing this? Couldn't we just postpone it?"

"You'll see once we get there."

Saying this, Lisa accelerates, although dangerously due to the strong wind and heavy rain that mostly obstructs her peripheral vision. After about twenty minutes, they're almost home.

"Be careful not to do it at home!" Lisa swerves and parks in front of the gate.

"Oh my, a tree fell there. I need to take the car to the underground parking. You guys stay here."

"We'll come with you."

"No sweetie, take Rebecca upstairs. See you later."

"Take care."

"Of course, sweetie."

Ken takes the bags and two umbrellas, handing one to his friend, and they run into the atrium, sheltered from the heavy rain and wind.

Ken looks around, and seeing that there's no one in sight, he relaxes. The two arrive at the apartment in complete silence. Rebecca notices him texting someone but can't see what he's writing or to whom. As they arrive in front of the door, Ken stops for a few seconds before taking the house keys.

"Ready?"

"What does that mean?"

Ken smiles at her and opens the door.

"Surprise!!"

What Rebecca sees as soon as Ken opens the door are: Briar, Will, Ghalen, Brayton, and Ken's little brothers with hats on their heads and confetti in their hands; a banner wishing her a happy birthday; a buffet table with drinks, snacks, and various sweets; and colorful balloons hanging randomly or left on the floor.

"What do you think? Did you like the surp-" Ken stops, seeing tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Again?!" Ken panics, and Ghalen hands her tissues.

"This time I'm crying out of happiness."

"Aw!" Briar rushes to hug her and dries her tears with another tissue.

"Happy Birthday." They all say one after the other, and her tears flow even faster.

"It's truly a happy birthday...!" She says between sobs.

"Bro, start the music!" Briar yells, and Brayton starts the stereo system. Everyone starts chatting with each other and relaxing.

"W-wait, I should have worn something more appropriate..." Rebecca blushes, looking down, realizing she's wearing a simple tracksuit.

"What you're wearing is perfect, and after all, you're the birthday girl, so no one could criticize what you're wearing." As Ken escorts her to the buffet, he hears his little brothers laughing and playing.

"I hope you don't mind the presence of my siblings... Ahah..."

"No! This is their home, after all." She smiles, watching the kids play in front of the TV.

"Kids are cute."

"I challenge you to say that after spending more than an afternoon with them." Ken jokes, making Rebecca giggle. His heart skips a beat.

"Try some snacks from the buffet... the juice is highly recommended."

We put in blood, sweat, and tears to buy it, after all... He stops to think. Where did Mom go?

"Wait here, I need to check something." She nods at his words and eats a mini quiche.

He hurries to put on his raincoat and grab an umbrella, but as he's about to open the front door, his mother enters, finding him face to face.

"What's wrong, sweetie?"

"I was coming to look for you, you were taking too long..." Ken reassures himself, seeing her just slightly wet.

"My little baby is worried about me?" Lisa smiles, ruffling his hair.

"Yeah, you know, with this weather, you can't do without it."

"I'm fine, so go have fun with your friends. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."

"Thank you, mom. I don't know what I would do without you."

"Me too, sweetie." She grabs his face and, raising her forehead to his lips, gives him a kiss.

"Mom?! My friends are on the other side of the wall!"

"Let them see how much I love my baby!"

"Let's not." As Ken chuckles, they both hear Briar's voice from the living room.

"Come here, kids. And the rest of you if you want." They position themselves in the center of the room to get as much attention as possible. "I've prepared a... Balloon Pop Challenge for you!"

"What's that?" Will asks, sitting on the couch.

"It involves popping the most balloons in the shortest possible time."

"Lame."

"Shut up! It's a game I thought of for the kids. Who wants to play?"

Almost all of Ken's siblings respond positively to their proposal, except for Alec, who sits next to Will.

"That's so lame, right? Who would want to play that?" He tries to imitate him by crossing his arms just like him.

"Me. Hey Briar, count me in." He stands up and approaches Briar and the kids.

"T-then me too...!" Alec does the same.

"Bro, don't you want to play?" Briar asks him, seeing that everyone else has approached and is interested except him, who remained seated in the same spot.

"Nah, I'll wait for the next game."

"You have five minutes to pop the balloons." They inform them, setting the timer. "Ready, and... go!"

Everyone, except Brayton, immediately starts popping balloons using whatever they find: the kids sitting or stepping on them, Ken using scissors from the buffet, Will and Rebecca using the only knives from the buffet, and Ghalen using house keys. Almost immediately, a 'splash' sound comes from Will.

"Oh right, I forgot that I filled some balloons with water..." Briar slaps their forehead with their palm.

"Great, as if the rain wasn't enough..."

"Come on, it's just a little water!"

After the five minutes, during which Seth and Ghalen also found the water-filled balloons, Alec was declared the winner.

"You're really lucky, Seth. Let's hope you don't get a fever again. Go to the bathroom to dry off."

"I'm quite the party entertainer." Briar says proudly.

"Not at all."

"Now gather around the table, let's play..."