Fate Has a Cruel Sense of Humor

Forever Inside You

"Surprise!" I jumped as the people came out of their hiding places. I clutched my heart and glared at Leslie and she picked up Benji and bolted. I expected this, but it still scared the crap out of me. I hated surprise parties with a Passion. I hated house parties in general, because I would be the one cleaning up the mess afterwards. Luce emerged from the crowd of party doers and hugged me.

'Happy birthday kid, you're getting up there." She grinned and it was contagious.

"I'm twenty-six, not eighty-five." I defended and we both cracked up. Luce handed me a drink. I sniffed at it warily and she laughed, slapping me on the back.

"It's punch, you're a mother now, no one wants to get you drunk." She told me and I slapped her arm. "Come on, let's go greet everyone."

I noticed that there were a lot of people in my house with some surprise. Who were all these people. I stopped my mom and dad in the mix and they were actually talking civilly to each other. I watched as my mom blushed at something my dad said slapped him playfully on the arm. He grabbed her hand and watching them was suddenly getting weirder and weirder. I turned my back on them, walking away to greet the other people who came to my party. Some of them were complete strangers and when I asked Luce, she shrugged.

"Flash mob." She told me. And that was that.

After a while, I escaped to the balcony and closing the doors behind me. My birthday was a complete bust. There was no cake, just cheese, crackers, finger sanwiches and some punch and wine. Leslie ran whenever I wanted to get Benji and I made a note in my head to make sure sure to get her back for this. I sighed. This is the second birthday without my sister, but it hurt just as much as the first. I thought with an aching heart.

"What is the birthday girl doing way out here." A voice brought me back to reality and I turned around with a smile.

"Hi daddy." He opened his arms and I sought out his familiar warmth. "I'm not much of a party person, you know that."

"I do, but I know you too Cassie-Bear and I know when there's something on you're mind." He said looking down at me. I put my face in his chest and sniffed.

"It's just time is moving on, I don't want to forget them." My voice cracked and my father soothed me by rubbing my back.

"Your sister and Aaron's memory will live forever inside you and Benjamin, but they'll never rest in peace if you don't let them. You have to move on with your life." He whispered sternly, but I could see the tears welling in his eyes. His sadness reflected my own.

"I'm trying." I choked back a sob."Benji is the only thing that keeps me going sometimes." My father wiped some stray tears that fell off my cheek and kissed my forehead.

"You, Benjamin and your mother are the only things keeping me going." He admitted and this time it was me comforting him. After a while we both stopped weeping and stepped away from each other.

"What is going on there anyway." I eyed my father and he actually looked a bit embarrassed.

"We've just been having a couple lunches." He admitted. I poked his chest and grinned at him, our week moment totally behind us.

"Should I be getting my hopes up?" I asked. He smiled at me happily.

"Maybe." He grinned and I hugged him.

"That's awesome." But a thought occured to me and I pulled back and faced my father with a stern look. "But if you pull the same stuff you did last time-"

"I won't, I promise." My dad assured me with a pained look. "Letting your mother go was the stupidest thing I've ever done. I'm ashamed it took me this long to figure it out."

I smiled at him. "Okay then." I told him. "Now go get your girl." I gave him a little push towards the glass double doors and watched as he asked my mother to dance. I sighed, I wanted what they had. Love without the divorcing part.

After a while, my lame birthday party came to an end and after I put Benji to bed. Leslie, Luce and I were opening the presents and splitting them among ourselves . This was something we did every year because people always seemed to fail when it came to getting us gifts we liked. We picked out what we wanted and then, donated them to the less fortunate. Leslie took everything girlie, as in gift cards for retail stores, nail polish, perfume, and anything pink thankfully, Luce staked her claim on all the electonics, although I grabbed the extra Ipad for Becka, and we splitted the books among us two, and I took anything vintage, cookbooks, kitchen appliances and checks with my name on them.

"So Cassie," Leslie said opening up a box that was full of vintage cameras and pushing it towards me. I squealed in glee, whoever sent me the camera's were definitely getting a thank you card. I searched for the card and saw that it was addressed from both my mother and my father and grinned. Normally I would have gotten to separate gifts from them, but as long as they were back on the road of reconciliation and the gifts were this good, I couldn't care less. "What was up with that guy at the park earlier." She smiled when I stiffened and Luce looked up at me with narrowed eyes.

"What guy?" She asked. handing me a mini donut maker. I oohed at it for a second, thinking about all the possibilities and ignoring them until Leslie opened her big mouth.

"The guy that Cassie was making goo-goo eyes at." Leslie remarked and Luce and I gasped.

"I was not!" I defended. "He's my boss!"

"Your relationship didn't seem very professional. That was the guy who sucker punched Marcus for you, wasn't it."

"He didn't do it for me, Marcus was asking for that."

"Admit it, you like him!" Leslie urged. I bit my lip. "Oh my God you do!" She exclaimed.

"There are some feelings." I admitted reluctantly. "I don't really even know myself. But he's my boss!" I defended.

"So?" Luce inquired. "What's the policy on dating co workers at your company?" I shrugged, I actually didn't know. "Well then, there you go."

"Nothing's going to happen between me and Adam." I finally said. "We're just friends. Plus, I don't think I could do that to Benji."

"Just because you have a child doesn't mean you have to grow old alone." Leslie said rolling her eyes. "Live a little. I know for a fact that it's been almost a year since you've been laid." I gasped. "You're sexually frustrated. release some of that tension." She giggled.

"I'm not sexually frustrated." I defended. Although it had been a while. I never slept with Marcus, I told him I was waiting for marriage when in reality I wasn't a virgin when we got engaged. It was just the thought of sleeping with a guy that had used more hair products than me, kind of creeped me out.

"And Benjamin does need a father figure." Luce added logically. "Living in a house full of women can't do an impressionable little boy any good."

"If it's not Adam, then at least let me fix you up." Leslie pleaded. "We'll watch Benji, just go out for a night and if you don't like the guy, it will be the last time we bug you about this."

"If Leslie gets to set you up, then I do to!" Luce hollered, a little too excited.

"Fine!" I threw my hands up. "Do what you want. I'm going to bed." They high fived each other and I rolled my eyes.

I really needed some new friends.