Eventually

CHAPTER TWELVE - Celebration.

CHAPTER TWELVE – Celebration.

Mum, Carly, Dad, Rob and the boys soon piled out the door. Mum ran up to me and kissed me on the cheek. “Happy birthday!” she exclaimed. She threw her arms around me and almost strangled me in a hug. “I’ll give you your present later. Okay?” She whispered as she began to walk away. Mum never gave me my present in front of people. Simply because Greg always got jealous. She acknowledged Aaron and walked over to join the family. I walked over to Dad and tightly hooked my arms around his middle. “Happy birthday sweetheart,” he said quietly before lightly kissing my forehead. I dug my head into his side. My Dad always had this distinctive smell of warmth and after shave. I subtracted my head and looked up at him. “I love you Daddy,” he smiled and hugged my tighter. “I love you too,” He said pushing my hair behind my ear.

“Mellie!” Greg shouted. “You’re old now! Woo!” I smiled as he hugged me tightly. “How old are you now, like 40?” I smiled and slapped him lightly on the arm. “Seventeen is not old Greggy,” I said, gritting my teeth.

My phone jittered in my pocket as I pulled it out to see the caller ID. ‘Emmi Swell’. I clicked accept and pulled it to my ear. “Smell Mellie, happy birthday loser,” As soon as I heard her voice I began to miss her even more than I originally did. “Emmi, I miss you!” I told her in a croaky voice. “I have so much to tell you!” “Ah! You met a boy?” She asked. I could just imagine her raising her eyebrows in her signature wave. “I met the boy.” I replied, emphasising the ‘the’. I talked to her for hours about Aaron. How romantic he was last night, how manly he was, how incredible he made me feel. Emmi sounded mesmerised as I went on about him. “I met someone almost as special as that too! Maybe we can go on a double date!” I smiled as she told me all about Kale. She’d met him at her school and they instantly liked each other. They went to the movies and then began to date. Finally myself, and my little cousin were happy.

Dinner arrived and we all sat in the dorm lounge with fish and chips and soda. The four boys were sitting on the futon, Mum and Dad shared the couch and Rob and Carly were on chairs. Aaron and I sat on the floor. I bit a chip and glued my eyes to the television. I laughed and smiled as Aaron tickled me. I wanted to spend all my birthdays like this; every birthday for the rest of my life. Like this...

With Aaron.