«boss called. working all day tomorrow. sorry babe»

 

You bit your lip reading that text. Could this week get any worse?

 

"Hey, your party starts at noon tomorrow, right?" your manager asked you as she passed your cubicle. You nodded, not trusting your voice in case it sounded as sad as you felt. "I'll be there around 1:00, okay? I need to drop my niece off with her dad."

 

"Sure," you replied as she walked away.

 

When you were sure that nobody was looking, you pressed your cheek against the cold desk. Reading that text from your boyfriend had made your exhaustion increase tenfold. Your manager called you in for work this entire week, which was totally out of the ordinary. You had hoped she would let you have one day off before your birthday so you could pick up your dog.

 

You squeezed your eyes shut. She wasn't your dog yet. The old pup was still sitting in a shelter four hours away and all you wanted was a free day to drive there, pick up the poor thing, and bring her home in time for your birthday. You had planned it out for months now but your manager decided to pile on the work right on the week of your birthday.

 

You looked at your phone again. No pup at your birthday, no boyfriend either.

 

Were all bosses understaffed these days that both you and your boyfriend were called to work on the most inconvenient of days?

 

Ah, you thought wistfully, it must mean my birthday's going to be great.

 

-

 

"Where's your boo? Haven't seen him at all." your manager asked, holding a drink in her hand and looking obviously drunk.

 

You tried not to cringe at the cheesy way she addressed your boyfriend. "He had work today and..." You checked the brand new watch that you parents gave you last night. "He probably just got home a few minutes ago."

 

"Why isn't he coming over?"

 

You fixed your hair in the mirror even though there was nothing wrong with it. You just didn't want her to know how much your boyfriend's absence bothered you. "I told him to go home and rest."

 

Your manager put her hand on her hip, giving you a disapproving look. "And why would you do that? Aren't you supposed to be enjoying a night of birthday in an hour?"

 

"Shh!" you hushed her and looked around, hoping none of the girls in the stalls had heard. "Don't say things like that!"

 

Her maniacal laughter proved to you that she was more drunk than you had expected. "Are you kidding me? Do you think you can hide the fact that neither of you can keep your hands off each other?"

 

"Okay, okay, I understand. Would you at least be quiet about it?"

 

She shrugged. "I'm just saying, if I had a boyfriend and he wasn't treating me to a good night on my birthday, he'd be in big trouble."

 

You wanted to rip your hair out in frustration. You weren't inclined to raise your voice at your manager in fear of losing your job but you didn't want her to think badly of your boyfriend either. "Just because he has work on my birthday doesn't mean he's a horrible boyfriend. He is the sweetest man I have ever met and I'm not going to punish him just because I'm not getting some tonight," you told her with a scowl.

 

She only sighed before taking a sip of her drink. "Whatever. You have one hour left until the end of your party and you've been on edge the entire time. Enjoy yourself, okay? I'm sure it's going to get better. It's your birthday after all."

 

"Thanks," you replied as you slumped against the counter.

 

"Psst!" Some girl poked her head in from the door. You recognized her as the delivery girl on Floor 6 of your building. "We're ready!" she waved at your manager.

 

Your eyebrows formed a crease as your manager suddenly set her drink down on the bathroom counter. She looked more alert as she grabbed your arm. "Uh, we should go!"

 

"Where?" you asked as she dragged you out of the bathroom.

 

"Just follow!" she pulled you past the bodies on the dance floor though they weren't dancing anymore. Everybody was looking out the window and they seemed to part the way for you.

 

Your manager let go of your hand once you reached the balcony where a ton of your friends had their cameras out. You looked back in confusion but your manager only waved you on.

 

"Go look!" she pushed you to the edge of the balcony when your feet seemed to stop working.

 

You looked down the balcony and it took a while for your eyes to adjust to the dark of the night. The venue had a beautiful garden but you couldn't see any of it. There was only one spotlight shining on the spot below you.

 

Your hand came up to cover your dropped jaw as you saw your boyfriend emerge with a big box in his arms.

 

"Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday to my love

Happy birthday to you"

 

You ran down the steps as everybody clapped. Tears were streaming down your face when you threw your arms around your boyfriend's neck. You couldn't even believe how much you missed him.

 

"Careful," he whispered in your ear before pulling away. "You don't want to squish your present."

 

You blinked in confusion and dabbed the tears off your face, careful not to smudge your makeup. "What is it?"

 

He seemed to have trouble with the weight of the box as he set it down on the ground in front of you. "Open it," he said as he knelt by the box with a teasing smirk.

 

You knelt by the box's other side and, before you could even lift its cover, the lid popped off by itself. You stared at the big brown eyes in shock.

 

"Did you..." Your teary eyes went from the box to your boyfriend to the box. "You..." Your voice betrayed you as your new dog your cheek, ridding the tears.

 

The crowd was clapping and cheering but you could only hear your boyfriend's words. "Do you like it?" he asked hesitantly as if you would say no. "Sorry I lied to you about work today  but I wanted it to be a surprised."

 

"Of course I like her! I love her." you wrapped your arms around your boyfriend and buried your face in his neck. "And I love you, too. Thank you for picking her up."

 

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" the crowd cheered.

 

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