One More Smile

6.

New York, New York
Wednesday, Sep. 4

"BB."

"...BB, wake up!"

Beyoncé opened one eye at the sound of her name being whispered loudly. She shifted on the queen sized mattress and looked over, seeing Celestine standing over her with a plate and her pink princess cup.

"What are you doing up?" Beyoncé asked, her voice raspy from sleeping.

"I made you breakfast, 'cause it's your birthday!"

Celestine smiled widely, showing the small dimple that indented her right cheek. She moved closer to the bed and placed the plate beside Beyoncé on the bed. There was a row of three french toast sticks and two chicken nuggets with a big glob of ketchup. Beyoncé sat up a little and yawned.

"I cooked it all by myself in the microwave!" Celestine said proudly. "Here, it's your orange juice."

She handed the cup to Beyoncé and leaned over, kissing her cheek. Beyoncé smiled at the sweet gesture and looked down at the plate.

"Thank you, baby. This looks yummy. You woke up all by yourself to make this?" She asked.

"Uh huh! Are you happy for your birthday?"

Beyoncé nodded. "I am."

She sat all the way up and grabbed her phone, checking the time. It was only six o'clock in the morning, which was thirty minutes earlier than when her alarm was set to go off. She wasn't exactly happy about the fact that Celestine had woken up earlier than she needed to, or that the small child had used the microwave on her own, but she deeply appreciated the thoughtfulness of her baby girl. Celestine sat beside her, and they both enjoyed Beyoncé's birthday french toast sticks together. The chicken nuggets were still a bit cold in the middle, but Beyoncé ate them anyway, proud of her daughter's efforts.

Once they finished the small breakfast, Beyoncé headed into the kitchen to clean their dishes, then began helping Celestine get ready for school. It took the full hour to get ready since Celestine wanted two french braids in her hair, but before they knew it, they were heading out to the tinted SUV.

"Happy birthday, Miss Knowles," Julius spoke formally, opening the backseat of the truck.

"Thank y–"

"BB, there's flowers!" Celestine yelled, climbing into the truck.

Beyoncé's eyes widened a little as she looked down at her child. "Celestine, please stop yelling. It's too early."

"...but loook. There's pretty flowers!"

As she strapped Celestine into the booster seat, her eyes landed on the large bouquet of colorful flowers in the backseat. She closed the door and Julius led her to the other side, helping her in. Once she got her seatbelt on, she grabbed the flowers and the note attached.

"Did Mr. Julius buy those for you, BB?" Celestine whispered in hopes of the driver not hearing her.

Beyoncé scanned the note and shook her head. "No. They're from Onika..."

As you celebrate another year, may you be blessed with love, joy, and cheer. May your dreams and goals come true, and may happiness always be with you.
Happy 20th Birthday, B!
— Onika

"Wow, these are beautiful," Beyoncé spoke, eyeing the flowers.

Her chest felt fuzzy at the thought of someone getting flowers for her. The gesture, while friendly, was associated with romance in her mind. She'd never been sent flowers, and the simple action made her wonder what it would be like to be loved romantically. Romance had never been an option for her, and she'd never dated anyone over the years but she was a growing woman with hormones and oftentimes found herself swooning over the attractive men who entered her job. Smiling to herself, she put the note down and held the flowers closer.