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DAYS REMAINING:10
TODAY WAS RICKY'S SEVENTEENTH BIRTHDAY. He went out to dinner with his parents and his girlfriend to his favorite Italian restaurant. True to his word, so far he was having the lowkey birthday that he wanted. He wasn't aware of the scene he was going to return home to see.
As Ricky got out of the car, he thanked his parents for their evening birthday meal. "Thanks for the wonderful dinner. Today was really great," he said gratefully, grabbing Luna's hand to help her out of the car.
"Of course honey," Mrs. Bowen replied. "I can't believe you're getting so old now. I loved watching you grow up to become the amazing man you are today." His cheeks turned red at his mom's words.
"He's pretty great, isn't he?" Luna piped up, agreeing. The adults laughed at her comment while Ricky just smiled even wider. He squeezed her hand gently.
They had reached the front door at this point. Mr. Bowen got the last word in before they went inside. "Happy birthday kiddo," he said as he opened the door to reveal the dark interior of the house.
Luna followed Ricky in with a big grin, still holding his hand. The lights suddenly turned on, revealing the group of people who had been invited to the surprise party. "SURPRISE!"
Ricky was in shock, jaw dropped and everything. Luna squealed next to him, "Surprise babe!"
"W-What is this?" He replied with a grin on his face, scanning the faces in the room. No one had ever planned a surprise party for him before, and he was so excited about having one now. "You did this?" He turned to his girlfriend next to him.
She gleefully nodded before pointing out his best friend. "Yup. Me and Big Red did a couple weeks ago. Happy birthday!" She replied, nudging him forward to greet his guests. First, he pulled her close to kiss her as a way to say thank you, which made the room erupt in "aw's".
Ricky left her side to go greet his guests. Luna bid a goodnight to the Bowen adults as they split to go to their respected bedrooms for the night to let Ricky enjoy his party without them hovering. Mrs. Bowen would be returning to Chicago tomorrow to be back with Todd.
Big Red approached Luna, grinning widely. He threw an arm around her shoulder as they looked out at the crowd of around 14 people who arrived for the surprise party, keeping it lowkey like they had promised.
A content sigh slipped from his lips. "We did good, Lu," he stated.
"Indeed we did, Red. He looks really happy," Luna replied, smiling at the sight of her boyfriend talking enthusiastically with Seb and Ashlyn. "Thanks for the help."
Big Red waved her off. "Of course. My best friend deserved a great party, and we delivered."
The party went off without a hitch. There was not a moment where a smile left Ricky's face. He was so happy to be surrounded by so many great friends on his birthday. It warmed his heart to know that his best friend and girlfriend cared so much about him to plan this surprise party for him. It must have been a lot of work to coordinate things, set everything up, and get everyone here for him. He was really appreciative of them.
