Chapter 8: Birthday
A few weeks had passed since Julia returned to work. With their excellent teamwork, William and Julia had solved several tough cases, and working together again brought them both joy and satisfaction. William's birthday was coming up, and Julia had decided to plan something special for him.
The day of William's birthday started like any other. They both woke up early to get ready for work. William made breakfast while Julia helped Susannah get dressed. After their meal, they headed to work together, waving goodbye to Susannah, who happily waved back from Claudette's arms.
At work, the day passed calmly, although it started with a few surprises for William. His colleagues greeted him with warm birthday wishes. Detective Crabtree was the first to approach him with a wide smile, handing him a small, carefully wrapped gift.
"Happy birthday, sir! I hope today brings you lots of joy!" Crabtree said, as the other officers joined in with their good wishes.
William thanked everyone, though he kept his emotions to himself—he'd never really cared much for birthdays. To him, it was just another day as he moved on with his usual tasks. The station was calm, and William focused on his work, not giving much thought to his birthday.
Meanwhile, Julia was also busy with her work at the morgue. Though they had seen each other briefly in the morning, they hadn't had a chance to meet up at work—both were immersed in their tasks. Julia, determined to keep her birthday surprise a secret, made sure William wouldn't suspect a thing. She knew she had to leave a bit early to get everything ready on time. Once she'd wrapped up her work at the morgue, she left the building, hopeful that her surprise would bring a smile to her husband's face.
Excited and full of anticipation, Julia quickly made her way home, stopping by the bakery to pick up the cake she had ordered for the occasion. When she entered the house, Claudette greeted her warmly, and Susannah immediately ran over to her, laughing joyfully. Knowing how much her daughter loved to draw, Julia had an idea.
"How about you draw something special for Daddy's birthday?" Julia asked with a warm smile, kneeling next to Susannah.
The little girl looked up at her mom with a big grin and answered simply, "Yes!"
Julia smiled and brought out some paper and crayons. She set Susannah up at the table, helping her arrange everything. "Draw whatever you like, darling. Daddy will love it."
As Susannah got to work on her drawing, Julia, with Claudette's help, started preparing dinner. Claudette was incredibly helpful, and together, they began whipping up some simple but delicious dishes for the birthday dinner.
Meanwhile, William was finishing up his duties and planned to pick up Julia as usual so they could head home together. But when he arrived at the morgue, it was empty. Surprised, he looked around, wondering where she could've gone. Julia hadn't mentioned anything earlier, which caused him a bit of concern. Still, he figured she might have had something urgent to take care of and decided to head home, unaware that his wife was busy preparing a special surprise for him.
Once Julia and Claudette finished preparing dinner, the nanny smiled at Susannah, who was still focused on her drawing, and placed a hand on Julia's shoulder.
"Looks like everything's ready. It's going to be a wonderful surprise," Claudette said with a warm smile.
"Thank you for your help, Claudette. I couldn't have done this without you," Julia replied, smiling gratefully.
Claudette glanced once more at Susannah, who was still deeply engrossed in her drawing, and then said her goodbyes, leaving Julia and Susannah to finish the preparations.
Julia walked over to the table, where Susannah was putting the finishing touches on her drawing. "How's it going, darling?" she asked warmly, sitting down beside her daughter.
Holding her crayon, Susannah proudly showed off her picture. "Daddy, you, me, tree!" she said excitedly, pointing to each element.
Julia smiled with pride, gently stroking her daughter's hair. "It's beautiful! Daddy is going to love it. I think it might just be his favorite gift."
When everything was ready, Julia helped Susannah into a pretty dress, and she slipped into something special herself. Once they were both dressed, they sat in the living room, waiting eagerly for William to return home.
As soon as William stepped inside, the smell of dinner hit him, and he could hear Susannah's soft giggles coming from the living room. He closed the door behind him and walked deeper into the house, curious about what was going on.
"William!" Julia greeted him with a bright smile, standing by the table in a lovely dress. Susannah, spotting her dad, immediately jumped up and ran over to him.
"Daddy! Daddy!" she called out happily, stretching her arms out to him. William scooped her up high, and she laughed with joy.
"What's all this?" William asked, clearly surprised by the setup.
"Supise!" Susannah shouted gleefully, pointing toward the table.
William followed her pointing finger and saw the elegantly set table and dinner prepared. Surprised but smiling, he looked over at Julia and Susannah, both beaming with excitement.
"Happy birthday, William," Julia said warmly, stepping closer. "We wanted to make tonight special for you."
William gazed at them, touched by how much effort they'd put into the evening. "Thank you, this is such a wonderful surprise."
"Daddy, for you!" Susannah added, running to the table to grab her drawing. She proudly handed it to her dad, bouncing with excitement. William smiled warmly as he looked at the childlike figures on the paper. The lines were a bit wobbly, the colors a bit smudged, but it was full of love.
"Look, Daddy! Me, Mommy, you!" Susannah pointed to each figure with her tiny fingers. "And tree, we like walk!" she added proudly, her eyes sparkling as she looked up at William.
Though it was hard to make out all the details, William's heart swelled with warmth. "This is wonderful, sweetheart. Thank you," he said softly, hugging his daughter, who smiled widely, proud of her creation and happy to see him so pleased.
After a moment, they all sat down to dinner. Simple yet carefully prepared dishes filled the table, and the aroma of a homemade meal filled the air. Their conversations revolved around the usual daily topics—William talked about his quiet day at the station. Susannah chimed in with her little comments, sometimes mixing up words in funny ways, which made her parents smile.
Her laughter echoed through the room as she recounted her walk in the park with the nanny. Julia watched her husband and daughter with affection, feeling grateful for these small but precious moments. Seeing the joy in Susannah's eyes, William felt all the stress of the day melt away, replaced by a sense of peace. These moments, full of laughter and love, made their home feel warm and close.
As dinner came to an end, Julia stood up from the table and soon returned with a birthday cake. While she was in England, she had noticed the tradition of blowing out candles on a birthday cake, symbolizing the fulfillment of wishes. Fascinated by this new custom, she decided to bring it into their home. Susannah, sitting on William's lap, watched curiously as her mother brought the cake. Julia smiled at her husband, holding out the cake with one candle on top.
"It's something I picked up in England," she said, placing her hand on William's shoulder. "Make a wish, blow out the candle, and it's supposed to come true."
William looked skeptically at the candle, then at Julia. "A wish?" he asked with a slight smile, clearly surprised.
Julia laughed lightly, looking into his eyes. "Yes, William, trust me. Sometimes it's good to try something new."
William shrugged, not entirely convinced but going along with the moment. "Alright, for you, I'll do it," he said before blowing out the candle, and Susannah clapped excitedly.
Julia smiled warmly, watching the scene unfold. "I hope your wish comes true," she added, looking at William with a gentle smile. She was happy to see that her surprise had brought joy not only to William but to their daughter as well.
William hugged Susannah, smiling at Julia. "Even if it doesn't, this evening is already perfect," he said, looking at his wife with gratitude.
After a peaceful and joyful moment, they all enjoyed slices of cake, and soon, Susannah, tired from the excitement of the day, began to doze off in William's arms. Seeing this, Julia stood up and walked over to her husband.
"It looks like it's time for our little princess to go to bed," she whispered, gently stroking Susannah's head.
William nodded and carefully stood up, carrying his daughter in his arms. Together, he and Julia took her to her room and tucked her into bed. Once Susannah had fallen asleep peacefully, they went to the living room, where Julia retrieved a small, carefully wrapped box from her desk.
"William," she began softly, walking over to him. "I have one more gift for you."
William, noticing the mysterious smile on his wife's face, took the box from her and slowly opened it. Inside, he found a pair of tiny baby shoes. Stunned, he looked up at Julia, unable to find the words.
"This... does this mean...?" He asked, and Julia nodded, smiling widely.
"Yes, William. We're going to have another baby," she said, her voice full of tenderness.
William was speechless, but his face lit up with happiness. He pulled Julia into a tight embrace, feeling an overwhelming sense of joy and gratitude for what was to come.
"This is the best gift I could have ever imagined," William said quietly before gently leaning in and kissing Julia. They held each other close, savoring the moment of peace and connection.
"Our next little miracle," William whispered, looking into her eyes and gently brushing her cheek. Julia smiled, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Our next little miracle," she echoed, thinking about the life growing within her. William looked at her tenderly, gently placing his hand on her baby bump.
Julia and William spent the rest of the evening in quiet, nestled together. Words weren't necessary—the warmth and closeness between them said it all. Their hearts were filled with joy, gratitude, and a sense of peace, knowing that soon their family would grow.
As William looked at Julia, he realized just how deeply he loved his wife. Every moment with her and with Susannah was a gift, and now, with another child on the way, he couldn't imagine being happier.
"We have such a beautiful future ahead of us," William whispered, gently stroking Julia's hair.
"Yes," Julia replied softly, looking up at him with a smile.
They closed their eyes, allowing themselves a moment of quiet rest, as the awareness of their shared happiness filled the room. They knew there would be many challenges ahead, but in that moment, they were certain of one thing— with love and support for each other, they could overcome anything.
In this quiet, peaceful moment, the future felt not only certain but full of hope.
