JUST A LITTLE COMFORT

C H A P T E R S I X

Two months later was Cole's birthday. I ended up making some of his other favourite dishes. He loved the chow Mein I made so that had to go on his birthday menu along with some other dishes and I experimented with a birthday mocktail. We were throwing him a birthday dinner because he was at the hospital for almost two days and Julia said he wouldn't want to get dressed up and go to a fancy restaurant. Julia had some décor done at the apartment. She invited James, Anna and some of his friends from the hospital that she knew he was close to.

When he walked in, he was on the phone. He saw the set up and the aroma of all the food hit him. He looked around and I had just walked out of Julia's room. We didn't wish him for his birthday yet. He went to his room, still with the phone to his ear and came out after twenty minutes, looking comfier.

"What's the occasion?" he asked and I was unsure if he was joking or genuinely wondering if this set up was for another reason.

"It's a preview for a client.... Looks awesome, doesn't it?" Julia, who was in the living room, said to him.

"Well... all the decor makes sense but why does the dinner table look this fancy? It looks like someone's wedding. Are you surprising us Jules?" He asked teasingly, this whole set up wasn't really 'him'.

"Ha Ha...Okay fine... it's for your birthday." She said, giving it up." HAPPY BIRTHDAY Baby Bro."She said, coming over to him and giving him a big hug.

"uhh...Thanks..." He said with a laugh, "What do you mean 'for my birthday'? Who's coming over?" He asked again, looking a little unenthused with the whole idea.

"People you like! Don't worry... you'll love it! It's just an intimate dinner and Sydney cooked all YOUR Favourites. I didn't go overboard this time or invite random women for you to date... I promise. I took YOU into consideration this time! This is not a repeat of last year. See. I'm not even expecting you to dress up in formal clothes and drive 45minutes to a fancy restaurant." She said while she still had her arm around him and tugged him along as she spoke, showing him her table setting.

"Okay...", he said. He was not a fan of surprises, "Thank you Jules." he said, finding the fact that she gave the whole thing 'thought' odd because her being thoughtful was not her strongest quality.

"I know I went over the top, but I want to use it for my socials, I might dabble in event planning too, so yes, I used your birthday to experiment. I'll wait for the guests to comment on my setup." Julia said.

He nodded and just looked around. There had to be something in it for her, I thought and laughed. He looked overwhelmed. Julia was excited. She loved stuff like this and couldn't contain her excitement. She just had her arms around him and swung him from side to side while she went on about the decor and how she used all day to set up this huge dining room table that she hired. Julia and Cole were very affectionate. It looked odd to me because brothers and sisters didn't really interact this way in the village. A brother would be protective of a sister and maybe give her a kiss on her forehead on her wedding day, but I found them cute. They'd always side hug each other or give each other a peck on the cheek to greet each other at the end of the day or when they were going somewhere. I was used to them being so loving and affectionate in one moment and then they'd be arguing and shoving each other in another moment. I mean Jules nearly broke Cole's arm when she tackled him down the other day for the TV remote, so they were a little extreme at times. 

Before I could even go over to him and wish him, James and Anna were at the door. Anna brought pasta and a dessert and James brought donuts.

"24 donuts.... For you... since you're a whole double dozen now." He said to Cole, hugging him and wishing him. I laughed at that . James greeted me and then went to the TV and switched on the sports channel. Anna-Marie got Cole a jacket. She'd buy him one every year and embroider her initials with the year under the sleeve by the wrist. That was such a sweet idea. She was the epitome of warmth, so a jacket was an ideal gift coming from her.