Rafael's Birthday Surprise
The big day was finally here. Though Rafael woke up feeling depressed, he promised himself that he would try to have a good day. Alister and Valon also promised him that it would be a birthday he would never forget. Rafael asked to take the day off from work because it was his birthday and he wanted to take time to enjoy it. The truth was, he didn't want his sadness to distract him from work. But he didn't mention that. Nonetheless, his manager granted his request.
While Rafael was out, Alister and Valon called their guests over to help get everything organized for tonight's party. Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Téa, and Emily stepped into the apartment carrying cakes of different sizes. Max and Bakura stepped in as well and Duke was the last person to arrive. The cakes were placed on the table and stacked from largest to smallest. After that, Téa and Emily got to work on decorating the cake with frosting and macarons. Duke and Yugi were in the kitchen helping Alister make steak and seafood for tonight's dinner. Max was filling the glasses with some sparkling cider she brought with her from home. Bakura, Joey, and Tristan were helping Valon decorate the apartment with wedding themed decorations.
Once everything was in order, everyone began changing into dresses and tuxedoes. Max was wearing a dark purple dress with long sleeves and silver frills around the neck and shoulder area. Max hated wearing dresses, but she decided to just bear with it, knowing it would just be for tonight. Téa was wearing a pink dress with a red bow tied around her waist. After getting into her wedding dress, Emily placed a veil over her head and held a bouquet of pink, yellow, and peach colored roses. She exhaled sharply as she looked at her reflection.
"Just relax," Max told her. "Remember, it's only for tonight."
"I know," the blonde replied.
Téa placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You're really brave for doing this, you know."
Emily looked at her. "How do you mean?"
"Well, you admitted you felt uncomfortable about doing this," the brunette reminded her. "But you decided to go through with it anyway because you wanted to make Rafael happy."
"And because of what this whole thing means to him," Max added. "That goes to show how much you really care about him."
Emily appreciated what they were telling her. She was glad they understood and she hoped that Rafael would understand too. "Let's do this." And they joined their friends in the main area as they waited for Rafael to come home.
Rafael spent most of the day out in town trying to find ways to ease the sadness in his heart. One place he stopped at was one of the town's churches. What really amused him was that it happened to be the same church where he first met Emily. Revisiting those memories brought a smile to his face. He also spent most of his time in the church praying for comfort as he thought about his family and missed them. He missed playing with his siblings and hearing them laugh and seeing them smile. He also missed being held in the embrace of his parents. But Rafael knew that his family would always be in his heart.
Rafael visited other places like the library and one of the cafés he would usually stop by every morning. Of course, there were some places in town Rafael avoided visiting like the lake and the pier. He didn't want to see sights with a lot of water because it would bring back a lot of sad and lonely memories about being separated from his family and being stranded on that island.
When Rafael saw that it was getting late, he decided that it was time to head back to the apartment. He hoped that Alister and Valon hadn't been making a mess of the place while he was out.
He took out his set of keys and unlocked the front door. When he stepped in, everyone shouted, "Surprise!"
This certainly was a surprise. He wasn't expecting a lot of people over tonight. He also saw how nicely decorated the place was. What really caught his attention was Emily in her wedding attire. He thought she looked beautiful.
"Happy birthday, Rafael," Emily said, handing him the bouquet in her hands.
Rafael's heart thumped wildly. "Thank you," he said, accepting it from her. "But are we getting married?"
"No," she answered. "This is what you said you wanted for your birthday."
Rafael was confused. "It is?" He looked to his friends.
"Raf, don't you remember?" Valon asked him. "I asked you what kind of cake you wanted for your birthday so I could ask Emily to make it."
"You said you wanted a wedding cake," Alister reminded him.
Rafael tried to remember. Last week, he was lying on the couch in depression because he knew his birthday was coming up.
Valon leaned over the couch. "Hey, Raf," Emily wants to know what kind of cake you want for your birthday."
Just hearing Emily's name brought a smile to his face. "Tell her I want a wedding cake," he mumbled. "And I'd love to see her wearing a wedding dress." Valon looked at Alister. The redhead shrugged and talked to Emily over the phone.
Now he remembered. "Oh, man," he laughed. "I can't believe I actually said that. I didn't think you would actually…" and he started laughing again. All of his friends laughed with him.
Throughout the party, everyone enjoyed a fancy steak and seafood dinner. Rafael complimented Alister, saying he outdid himself. The redhead gave credit to Duke and Yugi for helping out. The blonde also decided to be nice to Max, knowing she helped out a lot too. He told her the sparkling cider she brought with her was a nice touch.
When it came time to cut the cake, Rafael asked Emily to join him. She took a large knife and Rafael placed his hand over hers. "Be careful," he said. Emily forced a small smile. Together, they cut a large slice and placed it on a plate. Rafael could tell by the scent that the flavor was French vanilla. He also liked the macarons. Emily continued cutting the cake for everyone else. Even the Digimon got to join in on the fun and they also got their fair share.
While everyone else was outside eating and talking, Rafael asked Emily to join him for a private discussion. They went to his room and sat on his bed.
"Raf, are you okay?" Emily asked.
"Yeah," he replied. "I just needed to step away from everyone for a bit. And I wanted to thank you personally for all of this."
"Don't mention it," she said. "Besides, I can't take all the credit. Everyone pitched in. Max helped with this dress and everyone else helped make the cake."
Rafael knew he would have to thank everyone else too. "I'll be sure to tell Max she did a good job. It's a really lovely dress," he said sincerely. "Would you wear it for our actually wedding day?"
Emily wasn't surprised that Rafael would actually even ask her that. But she had to be honest. I would much rather wear something nicer. I still have my mom's old wedding dress, but I want to save that for when I really do get married. Though I think I might want to change it a little too."
"Oh, of course," said Rafael. "I totally understand." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, back to what I was saying, of course I'm grateful to Valon, Alister, Yugi, and everyone else. But I'm grateful to you especially. You went out of your way to make this day special for me and it really means a lot to me."
The blonde girl looked at him. "Well, I know what this day means to you and, well, I wanted to do something to make you happy because of that."
"And that's why it means so much to me," Rafael said again. "Because you cared enough to want to do all of this for me."
Emily cleared her throat. "Well, you know I'd do the same for any of my friends."
He did know and that was one of the many things he loved about Emily. He moved closer to her and asked, "May I kiss the bride?"
Emily found the thought of her and Rafael kissing to be very disturbing. She even told him once before. But it was his birthday and she didn't want to hurt his feelings. "Well, just this once," she said, "but only on the cheek, if you please."
Rafael shrugged his shoulders. "Fair enough," he decided. He figured it would be fair not to ask more from her when she already did so much. So he softly kissed her cheek. "Thank you," he whispered. "It would have been a miserable birthday without you."
"You're welcome," she replied. She got up from the bed. "Come on. Let's rejoin the others." Rafael agreed and followed her out of the room and back outside.
At the end of the party, everyone worked together to take down the decorations and clean the apartment. Alister said everyone was welcome to take home any leftovers if anyone wanted any. They helped themselves to a few more plates of dinner and a few more slices of cake. Rafael thanked all of his guests and his best friends for making this a birthday he would never forget.
