Birthday Date
Chapter 1
It was like his first official date with Sylvie. Aramis, Porthos and d'Artagnan were spread out over Athos' furniture. Constance would have been there too, but she was with Sylvie along with Anne and Elodie.
He looked down at his phone and sent a quick text message pleading for her to rescue him.
"Was that Sylvie?" Athos startled realizing Aramis was hanging over his shoulder.
Athos turned and stared at these men he called brothers. "Your wife and girlfriends are harassing her as you are me," he said looking at d'Artagnan first and then Aramis and Porthos. In truth he doubted Sylvie was being put through the same thing as Athos. Constance, Elodie and Anne were far too sweet to do that to her.
"What are you giving her?" Aramis asked.
It was Sylvie's birthday and Athos decided on having a simple dinner from her favorite restaurant delivered to his apartment. He checked his watched and realized the food would be coming soon.
"Hey Athos, are you going to….?" D'Artagnan was nudged forward by Porthos.
"All right, let's go," Porthos said.
"Thank you," Athos said looking grateful at Porthos.
Once they were gone Athos looked at his bedroom. Everything seemed to be in order…except for his grandmother's engagement ring he had left sitting on his dresser, velvet ring box opened wide. He wondered if any of his friends had seen it. He grabbed it closing the ring box and shoved it in his sock drawer.
TM
Sylvie looked at herself in the mirror. She was not very vain. She wore little makeup and never worried too much about keeping up with fashion trends. But she looked at the bags under her eyes and scowled.
"Anything we can do?" Constance popped her head in Sylvie's bathroom.
"Magically make these bags go away?" She asked.
"Sorry, love," Constance grinned and wrapped her arm around Sylvie's shoulders giving her a sideways hug. "I just don't think my concealers going to be much help."
Sylvie laughed and squeezed the hand resting on her shoulder.
"Are you all right?" Constance asked.
"Just a little tired," Sylvie said. "It was a long day with a room full of hyper seven year olds."
They went back in her bedroom where Elodie and Anne were. "Well, I think we've tortured you enough for this evening," Anne said smiling.
"Where are you ladies off to?" Sylvie asked.
"Drinks," Elodie said looking very pleased. Marie-Cessette had been teething and was keeping her parents up all night. It was the first night Elodie and Porthos had had out together in weeks and their daughter had a babysitter. "We'll be meeting the boys."
"And as usual, I'm the designated driver," Constance sighed patting the barely noticeable baby bump with one hand and twirled her keyring around her finger with the other.
The women left and Sylvie checked her phone seeing two new text messages from Athos. The first message was a plea for help asking her to save him from his brothers. The next message was to tell her it was all clear in his apartment. She smiled forgetting her tiredness as well as the bags under her eyes. She quickly sent a text back telling him the girls were also gone and she would be there soon.
TBC