Hollie checked and saw that there were no new orders coming in. Joe was rushing around the kitchen, checking on the chicken wings in the oven and frying the spring rolls in large batches.
Joe kept declining her offers to help and finally Hollie stopped asking. She couldn’t help feeling a little hurt but she told herself to get over it. She shouldn’t read too much into the situation. Joe had his own reasons and she should just respect his wishes.
Maria marched into the kitchen and beamed at Hollie. “Come on out, Hollie,” she said, linking her arm through Hollie’s. “Joe, is everything ready?”
“In a minute,” he said breathlessly.
Maria and Joe smiled at Hollie, and their smiles were so warm and affectionate that she felt ashamed for thinking that they weren’t her friends.
“Are you ready?” Maria giggled as she led Hollie out of the kitchen.
“Ready for what?” Hollie sputtered in bewilderment.
“For your party!”
As soon as Hollie stepped into the diner, confetti rained down on her. The entire diner was filled with people, and they yelled in unison, “Happy birthday, Hollie!”
Hollie gasped as she looked around. The diner was decked out with balloons and streamers, and all their regular customers were in attendance. She saw the Ballsy Hookers, Kyle, Shane and Ian grinning at her from the crowd.
The crowd parted and Hollie saw a gigantic birthday cake with glowing candles on a table.
“Happy birthday, Hollie,” Maria said, giving her a hug. “Welcome to your birthday party!”
Hollie wiped tears from her eyes. “You...oh, no one has ever done anything like this for me before,” she whispered. Kyle came up to her and gave her a beautiful bouquet of flowers.
“Your presents are on the other table,” Ian called out.
Hollie looked up and saw a table overflowing with presents at the other end of the diner. She burst into fresh tears.
Kyle kissed her softly and let her dry her tears on his shirt. “Are you okay?” he whispered.
“Yes,” she said, smiling. “I’m okay. I’m just so touched. Thank you so much,” she said. “Thank you. This is the best surprise ever.”
“Kyle planned this,” one of the Ballsy Hookers told her. “He got everyone involved, and we were so excited to be part of this surprise party. Each of us contributed a small dish, since it’s a potluck party.”
“But Joe is preparing most of the party food,” Maria said. “Here comes the food!”
Joe and Lucy came marching proudly out of the kitchen bearing huge trays of chicken wings, spring rolls and crab cakes.
“Oh Joe,” Hollie cried. “You should have let me help. You did everything yourself...”
Joe grinned at her. “It’s a pleasure, my dear. I don’t want you to cook for your own party.”
Hollie went to Joe and gave him a big hug. “Thank you,” she said.
“Let’s get the party started, shall we?” Joe said, beaming.
Hollie had to blink back tears again when they sang the birthday song for her. No one had ever celebrated her birthday for her in the Black Blade pack. Years just rolled by, and her birthday was just another day of backbreaking work.
She looked up at Kyle who was standing beside her. He had asked for her date of birth during a casual conversation and she had thought nothing of it. She never expected him to go to the trouble of planning a surprise party for her and getting the whole diner involved. She had made so many friends at the diner, and having the party here at the diner made it so much more meaningful and memorable.
Kyle was the one who ordered the beautiful birthday cake. It was specially designed with her name on it. Hollie stared at the cake for a long while before cutting it.
After handing everyone a slice, she dug into her cake and closed her eyes. She tasted Kyle’s love in every mouthful. She finally knew the taste of true happiness and bliss.
This was certainly a birthday to remember. She would cherish this memory for the rest of her life.