Delilah looked at her phone, to the door, back to her phone. She sighed, wiping away a tear from her eye. She supposed Jack wasn't coming. She walked to the kitchen, opening the refrigerator door, pulling out the birthday cake she had made for herself. On top of the icing was a number: 25. She pulled out a chair and sat down to cut away the seconds until the clock struck midnight and she officially turned 25. She had hoped that Jack would have come, or at least called. It had seemed that he hadn't cared, or was too busy writing songs. Perhaps he had found another girlfriend, one who was out of college and just as obsessed with songs as he was. She wiped away another tear, then another. She bent her head down, sobbing quietly. She composed herself, wiping her face on a napkin, just in time to hear the clock strike twelve.
"Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me," she sang under her breath, cutting herself a generous slice of cake. After all, it's not like anyone was there to share it with her. She was sitting down to eat, and maybe cry some more, when the doorbell rang. She sighed, once again standing to open the door. Was she ever going to eat her cake? She opened the door just a sliver, cautiously peering out into the hallway. Her face brightened when she saw who it was. Jack was standing there, a bashful expression displayed on his handsome face. In his hands he held a picnic basket.
"Can I come in?" He asked Delilah, after standing there a while. Delilah blushed, realizing that she had been staring.
"Oh, yes, of course," she responded blushingly, opening the door fully to let him in. He slipped through the door frame, hanging his coat on the wall hook. Delilah studied him, realizing that he belonged here. He just sort of... fit. Like the puzzle piece you didn't know was missing until it showed up in your sock one day. He walked through her little apartment, pointing out the little differences since he had been gone. He walked into the kitchen, noticing her lonely piece. He smiled at her, making her blush and duck her head. Before he had left to try to make it big, there had been no shyness between them. They had done everything with each other, spent every waking moment with each other. Now they were simply familiar strangers. She cleared her throat, feeling suddenly somber.
"So, why are you here, Jack?" Her question came out sharp and accusatory, cutting Jack to the core. He bowed his head, grinning up at her through his shaggy bangs.
"To wish you a happy birthday, of course!" She simply stared at him, hiding her emotions behind cold eyes. To wish her a happy birthday? That's it?
"And of course," he added, really smiling now, " to give you your present!" Now that was more like the Jack she knew and loved. She smiled back at him, a question forming.
"Well?" She asked expectantly. He looked lost for a minute, staring confusedly at her. "The present?" She added, chuckling at his cluelessness. His mouth formed an O shape, eyebrows raised.
"Of course. Well, there's two parts. The first part is... we're having a midnight picnic!" He excitedly exclaimed, waving his picnic basket for emphasis. She laughed at the absurdity of his plan, raising her eyebrows.
"And the second part?" She inquired. He grinned deviously at her.
"You'll find that out later. Now, as much as I love your pajamas, they are hardly Central Park material. So, go change!" He made a shooing motion with his hands, laughing at her obvious embarrassment. She hadn't realized that she'd been wearing her Hello Kitty pj's. She hurried to her closet, looking for something that screamed, I'm not frantically trying to impress you but you're impressed anyway. It surprisingly only took her twenty minutes, which is pretty good when you think of it. She finally chose her lace pink Toms, a pair of ripped skinny jeans, a light pink Eiffel tower t-shirt. She added her white fedora, her bow earrings and her bow necklace. Inspecting herself in the mirror, she had to admit that she looked pretty hot. She grabbed her white clutch on the way, knocking on the door frame in the kitchen. Jack turned to glance at her, his eyes bulging out of his head.
