"Chocolate or vanilla?" Cha-Cha asked.
Ed paused. Depended on what they were talking about. "For what?" Was this a trick question?
"A cake, of course," she answered, eyes wide. Did he think the date had slipped her mind? "I wouldn't forget your birthday!"
"Oh that," he said. "You don't need to do the whole cake thing, Cha-Cha. It's not a big deal."
"Sure it is! You're forty!"
The detective grumbled and fell into a kitchen chair. "Don't remind me."
Cha-Cha would have none of this moping about. It was his birthday, he would enjoy it and have fun.
Whether he liked it or not.
"Chocolate or vanilla?" she asked again. A cake would be made and eaten, no question about that. What was so wrong with celebrating?
"Vanilla, I guess." He was really apathetic to the whole birthday thing. Well, he used to like them. But he finally hit forty and he was a little depressed.
Old. Forty. Seriously? Cha-Cha was still in her twenties. That was ridiculous. Pretty soon he'd be like those creepy guys who try to pick up dates way too young for them! He didn't want to be that person! Except…he wouldn't exactly be picking up dates, he had Cha-Cha. But it was the idea that he could be the creeper on the corner that got him. Do you know what else this meant? When he was fifty Cha-Cha would still be in her thirties. It would bother him all over again! Hell, he'd die at eighty something years old and she'd still be in her early sixties, full of life.
He may have been over thinking this.
Cha-Cha kissed his cheek, hoping to get a small smile out of him before starting on her new project. It sort of worked. Getting to work she hummed softly, switching between Happy Birthday and whatever songs floated into her head. She was happy for him, even if he wasn't.
Ed plopped his head into his hand, watching her. Appreciated the thought, but it made it real if there was something out of the ordinary going on. He'd rather pretend he was thirty nine some more. Well, he had a few hours left. He was born in the late afternoon.
When the cake was in the oven she returned, asking how he would like to spend the day. "I'd like to relax."
"Couch or bed?"
"Couch," he answered.
"Movie or cuddle?"
"Both." It was like On Demand personified. If only every day were this easy. In a second he found himself on the couch, Cha-Cha curled up beside him, remote in hand. Of course nothing was on, and neither had felt in the mood for any of their DVDs. He settled for watching the last hour of The Princess Bride for the millionth time. Cha-Cha's eyes had lit up when he passed over it, and considering he hadn't found anything anyway, he stuck with it.
The Princess Bride ended, and both sat through the next movie too. They didn't catch the name. Or the plot. Both of them were zoning in and out, talking occasionally, and mostly just holding each other. Cha-Cha was getting fidgety though.
"You're bored, aren't you?" she asked.
"No, hun," Ed said, shaking his head. He was just quiet because he was relaxed. And…maybe slightly bored.
"Yes you are. What do you want to do?"
"I want to forget the whole thing and call it a day."
"Sorry," she said with a laugh. "Wrong answer!"
Ed sighed. "Then I want a nap."
She crossed her arms. "God, you are no fun. Seriously baby, over night you turned into a big, boring…anger ball."
"Anger ball?"
"Yes! Where's the Eddie I know and love? He may be one year older, but he wouldn't let that stop him from having a good time. Now you can do anything you want today, napping the only exception. Go!" She waited for him to suggest the next activity.
"Fish."
"What?" Fish? What did he mean by that?
"Go Fish." Obviously.
Cha-Cha stared at him. "You want to play Go Fish?" She would, he was suggesting something like she asked, but that was surprising.
"Not really. Just came to my mind." Spoke too soon.
"You know what? We're playing anyway. You said it, it counts. I'll be right back." She returned a moment later with a deck of cards, shuffling them as she walked. "You are so hard to work with," she mumbled, smiling lightly.
A few games went by, Ed winning them all. Either she was letting him win, or she really sucked at Go Fish. He couldn't tell. Then again, it wasn't really a two person game. That probably had a lot to do with it. "Five zero, babe. Play again?"
"Sure," she grinned. Anything to keep him busy and awake.
Nodding, he gathered the cards. It was his turn to shuffle again. He sniffed the air. "Do you smell something?"
"No not really-oh!" She'd completely forgotten about the cake! "Oh no!" Cha-Cha darted into the kitchen to open the oven. As black smoke emerged and she pulled out what was supposed to be desert she cried, "I don't believe this! As if you weren't having a bad enough time without me losing all track of time and burning the cake!" She threw it onto the counter in despair. "I hate birthdays!" Pause. "Oh my god I'm turning into you!" She looked terrified at the thought.
Ed ignored the comment, knowing she hadn't meant to insult him. He was about to tell her to take a deep breath when an alarm went off. He winced and covered his ears, another one beeping loud and obnoxiously above him. Soon every smoke detector in the apartment was going off, and Cha-Cha just stood in the middle of the kitchen, feeling defeated. She was just about to cry before Ed took her in his arms.
Surrounded by smoke and blaring alarms, Ed held her close, trying not to let her see him laugh. He might have gotten away with it, but his shoulders were shaking slightly. "Are…are you laughing?"
"Of course not," he said, a smile evident in his voice. Unable to help himself, he had to laugh out loud. Cha-Cha pushed against him in disbelief. She'd been trying all afternoon to get him to smile, and now he was almost falling over laughing?
"That's just great," she said, eyes tearing up. "Now you enjoy yourself! Glad I could help."
"I'm sorry sweetheart it's not funny at all." He was still laughing, unsure what he found so hilarious. "If it's any consolation I'm having a great birthday."
"You're so mean!" she called over the noise, finally following his lead and smiling. She was devastated her work had gone up in smoke, but he was happy now. "How do you turn those things off?!"
"They should go off on their own once the smokes gone, don't you think?!"
"The fire department won't come, will they?!"
"Not if they know it's us!" he laughed. "We've given them enough false alarms!" Hey, accidents happen. "Come on, let's get away from this!"
"It's in every room!" Where did he expect them to go? Leave the apartment? She wasn't dressed for that!
"Not every room!" He took her hand and lead her down the hall, going into the bathroom and shutting the door after them. Hopping up to sit on the counter, he patted the spot beside him for her to join. Jumping up, she needed more than a hop, she scooted over to lean against him. The buzzing could still be heard, but it was much fainter and they didn't have to scream to be heard. Ed wrapped an arm around her. They'd hide in here for a while.
Cha-Cha hadn't pictured the afternoon ending this way, but if he was laughing, it couldn't be that bad, right? "Happy birthday."