Gingersnap

Part 5

On February Third, Yuki picked Edward up and took him back to her house to celebrate his eighteenth birthday. For breakfast, she made him some blueberry pancakes with eggs, bacon and fresh orange juice.

Later on in the afternoon, the snow leopard drove him to the movie theater to see a brand new action movie the two had been looking forward to seeing. Afterward, they went out to eat for lunch, and Yuki paid for Edward's meal despite the boy's protest that he could pay for his own food. Either way, Yuki would have been paying for his lunch anyway. He earned most of his pocket money from her through the chores and odd jobs around the house he would often complete for her during the weekends.

Through out most of the day, Ginger remained nestled inside Edward's pocket. She poked her head out every once in a while to accept a few small bites of food from her friend's plate, or to have a quick chat with Yuki. As soon as the lights had dimmed in the movie theater, Edward had taken her out and placed her on his shoulder and held her close so that she could watch the movie, too.

Ginger enjoyed spending the day with Edward and Yuki, although she still felt a bit shy around the snow leopard. However, she was looking forward to later, when she could finally give Edward his birthday present. Of course, she had only been able to buy it with his help, but the boy had promised to act surprised when she presented it to him.

"Are you sure you want to get this for me, Ginger?"

The boy had asked once she pointed it out to him in the store.

"Yes, of course I do! C'mon Ed, it's your birthday! You're allowed to indulge."

"Well...I can't argue with that."

Edward finally caved in and bought the gift for Ginger to give to him. It had been sitting in a container on the table since yesterday morning, and the boy would occasionally cast it a hungry gaze.

Ginger giggled at the thought. She couldn't wait till he opened it, especially when he would discover that there was a special little surprise waiting for him on top.

That evening, a few friends came over to Yuki's house to sing happy birthday. It was the same group who had visited on Thanksgiving. Denali, Victor, and Phoenix stopped by with cake and ice cream, while Jessie and Oscar came along for the food.

Yuki prepared dinner while Victor, in animated tones, told Edward all the things he could do now that he had turned eighteen. "You could go skydiving, buy lottery tickets, even get a tattoo! Although I wouldn't recommend that until you're a little bit older."

When the festivities came to an end and the guests headed home for the night, Yuki drove Edward and Ginger back to their apartment building.

"I hope you had a great day, birthday boy!" Yuki exclaimed as she watched him climb out of the car.

"I did! Thank you for everything, Yuki." Edward told her, flashing a bright grin.

"Anytime, kiddo!" Yuki smiled. "I'll call you sometime before the end of the week. We still have to reschedule a date to bake our cookies!"

"That's right! We were all too busy to make them in time for Christmas... Maybe we can make some this month instead."

"Sounds good!" Yuki agreed, giving him two thumbs up. "Okay, I'll see ya later, Ed! Happy Birthday!"

"Bye, Yuki. Thanks again!" Edward waved to her before he closed the car door. As soon as Yuki pulled out of the parking lot behind his apartment building, he hurried up the steps to the second floor and ran to his room, shivering in the cold winter air.

As soon as she heard the door open and close, Ginger poked her little head out of his pocket again. "Are you ready for my present now?"

"You bet I am!" Edward chuckled as he reached into his pocket and pulled her out.