"Good morning birthday lady" Raven whispered. She kissed her girlfriend's temple. Rosabella groaned and pulled a pillow over her head.
"Go away, you evil morning person" she muttered.
Raven giggled and pushed a brown curl behind the shell of Rosabella's ear. "Cmon. You have cake and presents waiting for you."
Rosabella rolled her eyes but allowed Raven to drag her out of bed. The sight of vanilla cake boosted her mood.
Raven noticed Rosabella's small smile. "I knew cake would wake you up."
She pulled the desk chair out Rosabella. The cake was beautiful, two tiers covered in a vanilla fondant that was adorned with pink sugar roses. Rosabella clapped as Raven gently pushed the chair in while humming 'Happy Birthday'.
Raven handed her a cake cutter. "Enjoy your breakfast. A group of us planned a book party for you."
Rosabella gasped. "You didn't!"
She had dreamed of having a book party since she was a kid. A book party requires every guest to read a book prior to the event. The guests then spent the party discussing the book while enjoying tea and cake.
Rosabella cut two thin slices of cake. "What book did you choose?"
Raven accepted the slice Rosabella passed her. "You'll see. It's one of your favorites."
Maddie, Briar, Apple, and Justine were sitting on logs when the sapphic couple arrived. Briar ran to meet her cousin.
"Happy birthday!" she squealed, throwing her arms around the birthday girl. Rosabella happily reciprocated.
"Raven told me that is a book party."
The guests nodded as the couple claimed to their log. Justine pulled her copy out from her bag.
"We chose The Red Hat Club by Haywood Smith. And I hope you want a new copy"
Rosabella's jaw dropped when she opened it. On the inside of the book cover was Haywood Smith's signature.
"You guys...'" she whispered. "How? Where?"
"It was Raven's idea" Maddie said. "We all chipped in. We found it in a teeny tiny little book shop in the village. We should start our book discussion now while our tea is still hot. Who was everyone's favorite Red Hat?"
The next three hours were full of raspberry tea, the cake Rosabella and Raven had had for breakfast, and a very intense debate about whether the novel was more about feminism or sisterhood. Rosabella, having read the book seven times, was the most familiar with it and won.
"This has been the best birthday ever" Rosabella said. "I'm so grateful for all of you."
Especially you she thought, looking at Raven, watching the way the sun illuminated her black highlights and made her jewelry shimmer. She didn't know what she had done to deserve a girlfriend who was so thoughtful and beautiful, but she was more than willing to do it again.