Daphne was mere seconds from returning the milk to the refrigerator when her hand stilled on the door handle. Her eyes moved to the large calendar that Frasier had insisted that they purchase in an effort to be more organized. There was definitely a method to his madness. This was the most elaborate wall calendar that she'd ever seen. Not only was it colorful, it was quite functional with ample space for jotting down important notes and grocery lists that could quickly be copied down. However, functional as it was, she couldn't help noticing that Frasier was dreadfully behind on updating the calendar and she laughed out loud. The silly sod was always insisting on having everything just so and yet he-
Her next thought vanished, replaced by a sense of disbelief. For there in the middle of the calendar, was the date circled in bold, red ink. And in the circle were the words Niles's Birthday. It was a lovely gesture to be certain highlighting the birthday of his brother.
But something just wasn't right.
Curious, she put the milk carton back in the refrigerator and walked into the living room. A quick glance at the morning paper confirmed her worry. The red circled date had occurred over a week ago, which could only mean one thing…Frasier had forgotten his brother's birthday!
Bloody hell, what had gotten into him? And how terrible that Martin seemed to have forgotten the date of his youngest son's birth as well? Why that was disgraceful! Daphne had eight brothers and she never forgot their birthdays even though they were far away in another country.
Neither Martin nor Frasier had even mentioned Niles' birthday and the fact that both of them had chosen to go out of town on separate trips (Martin went fishing in Oregon while Frasier was in Spokane for a conference.), made her fume. How could they leave town without even the slightest hint of a celebration?
The thought was distressing; for Niles was family. But he was also her friend. And he'd done so much for her that it was time to return the favor. He deserved something special and she was determined to make this the best birthday he'd ever have, even if it was dreadfully late.
Grateful to be alone, Daphne spent the day working diligently; making certain that everything would turn out just as she hoped. The late morning hours were devoted to shopping and she drove from store to store to find just what she needed. With her arms full of shopping bags, she hurried home to begin the second part of the day. This was the part she'd been looking forward to most of all, putting everything together. But she knew that the real reward would come later.
With a smile on her face she set to work. As she worked, she found that she enjoyed herself, even though the preparations weren't much different than her usual duties. But this was a special occasion.
Finally she had everything ready and she knew it would be appreciated (or at least she hoped so), but it did little to quell her nervousness. It was silly feeling this way around someone she knew better than anyone, but she couldn't calm her tensions. The feeling was there even as she climbed into the car and drove out of the Elliot Bay Towers parking lot.
But she knew in the end that it would be worth it.