Outback Living

Chapter Ten

To say the next week was busy, would be an understatement. I'm not sure how my Aunt did it, but everyday a different truck would roll into the property, delivering something for the party. One was carrying chairs, another trestle tables. A fancy cocktail maker, a dance floor and an unimaginable amount of decorations. This last truck that is pulled up in the long driveway, is full of food and the most amazing cake I've ever seen.

But the best surprise comes at five o'clock, in the form of my two best friends from New York. I'm in the kitchen with Ally and my Aunt making dinner, when there is a knock on the door. We don't get a lot of visitors here, so I'm a little shocked. I share a look with both of them, before my Aunt tells me to go see who it is. I wash my hands and move toward the front door. When I approach I don't see anybody at first.

Then they come into view, and I'm so shocked at first that I don't even open the fly screen. It's not until my eyes suddenly become blurry with tears, that I finally come to my senses. I throw open the door and rush the two of them, as they stand on the porch. I squeal and cry all at once, still not quite believing they're here, as I wrap Kira and Danny up in a group hug. My Aunt and Ally watch on, as the three of us reunite.

"What are you doing here?" I ask through tears.

"We're your birthday presents." Danny answers nodding towards something behind me.

I turn suddenly to see my Aunt now standing in the hallway. She has her arm around Ally and a soft smile on her lips.

"You bought them here? For me?"

She just gives me a short nod. I unravel myself from my friends and practically run to my Aunt. I throw my arms around her and cry into her blue tee shirt. When I finally pull myself together, I move back to my friends, loop my arms through theirs, and introduce them to the two people who have become the two most important people in my life. After the introductions, my Aunt tells both Ally and me not to worry about helping.

"Go help them get settled. Dinner isn't far away." She says.

Kira will be staying in the other guest room in the house and Danny will stay in the carriage room that Aiden and Ethan just vacated. So I pull the two of them upstairs first, and lead them to Kira's room. A soft gasp leaves her mouth as she takes in the room that's almost identical to my own. After throwing her suitcase on the ground, I waste no time in dragging them back downstairs and out to the carriage house.

I'm so pumped for them to be here, that I don't notice Stiles, Scott and Isaac coming back from the shed. It's Ally that alerts me to their presence. They're all in dark jeans, boots and their Akubras. Almost in sync they remove their hats and ruffle up their hair.

"Hey guys, come meet Lydia's friends from New York."

Isaac is the first to reach us and he instantly offers his hand to Danny.

"G'day. I'm Isaac." He says as he shakes Danny's hand and then smiles at Kira.

Then he introduces the other two. When he says Stiles' name, I notice both Kira and Danny look at me a little wide eyed. They both know about Stiles, I grumble about my relationship -or rather lack thereof- with them, at least twice a week. We don't get long before my Aunt is calling us all to wash up for dinner. Danny throws his duffle bag into the room, barely able to check out the small space he will be staying in.

Dinner is nice. Aunt Sybill went all out with a hearty casserole of beef and vegetables. Stories are thrown around the table, as Kira and Danny do their best to embarrass me. The truth of the matter is, I'm actually the most behaved one, so I embarrass them more than the other way around. They catch me up on nearly three months worth of gossip from home, and I tell them of all my espcades in outback Australia.