Chapter 30 Bink and Viv Part 3

"Uh-huh. Yeah, I know." As I talked on the phone with my business partner, I searched for my keys in my pants pocket. "That's good. That's really good; more money for us." I finally found my key, thankful that the search for it didn't take ten minutes like it normally did. When my business partner said one more thing, essentially confirming the good news that he had already given me, I let out a breath of relief. "That is so nice to hear, Jeff. You earned this Kong's respect." I pushed open my door. "Okay, I'll talk to you tomorrow. We can discuss these developments in further detail." Not that there was much to discuss given how Jeff did an outstanding job already. "Talk to you later."

With that, I hung up and put my phone away. Honestly, Jeff put my old business partner to shame in pretty much every way conceivable. He actually had a brain, first and foremost, and he knew how to draw in the cash. He took all the right steps at exactly the right time, which was just so satisfying. With a business partner like Jeff, I barely had to lift a finger in order to make a profit. All I had to do was trust him and everything would be alright. That was just amazing in so many ways.

Thinking about this caused me to smile. I closed the door behind me and walked into my house. As I did, I was temporarily drawn out of my joyful satisfaction as I noticed something really weird. Why was it so dark in the house? It was still light outside, so logically, there should be some light in here. But there was nothing, nada, zilch. It was so dark in here it was like the sun had been extinguished. I tried to find a reason why this was, but none of the possible answers my mind could cook up made sense.

"Where's the light switch?" I asked out loud. When I got to the dining room, I felt along the wall, trying to locate it. I must've groped around for about three minutes, becoming increasingly more frustrated when I didn't find what it. It felt like a miracle when I finally did. When I turned on the light…

"Surprise!"

I did a double-take. It took a minute for me to even comprehend what I was seeing. "Vivian?" I looked around the room, and as I did, my jaw dropped. Rainbow-colored balloons and golden streamers decorated the walls. Gold and silver confetti had been unleashed in the room, and it was sprinkled both on the floor and on the table. Speaking of the table, it had been set up in the most visually appealing way possible. A snow-white tablecloth had been placed on it, and vases full of fire flowers had been placed in each of the four corners. On top of which there was a cake in the very center. It had three layers, with chocolate frosting and a Yoshi berry sitting in the middle of the topmost layer.

"Vivian…" I looked toward my smiling friend. "Did you do all this?"

"I did." Vivian beamed. "Do you like it?"

"I… yeah! It's incredible!" Confusion claimed me. "I just don't know what the occasion is. My birthday was five months ago."

"Yes, I know." Vivian chuckled. "The occasion is actually a milestone, a milestone I never would've imagined I'd reach." I raised an eyebrow at her, making her face turn magenta. "Today is the one-year anniversary since we became friends."

I blinked. "Wait, really? It's been that long ago." Vivian nodded, and I put my hand to my head as I tried to comprehend that fact. "Holy moly." I shook my head. "Time sure does fly."

"Yeah, it does." Vivian beamed and floated closer to me. "Especially when you're having fun."

I chuckled. "Yeah, that is true." I looked into her golden eyes, feeling a very specific and wonderful form of gratitude overcome me. "Vivian… thank you. Not just for the party, but for sticking by me for so long."

Vivian giggled. "You're welcome. Thank you for doing the same thing for me." She paused before gesturing toward the cake. "Want to try the cake? It's a chocolate Yoshi berry cake. I went to a very fancy bakery to get it. You know, because I wanted it to be just right."

I licked my lips. "Well, just based on presentation alone, I would say you succeeded." I went over to the table and took a seat. Vivian cut me a piece of the cake, and when I took a bite… "Oh wow." I was starstruck, I was in awe. "Vivian, this is incredible! What bakery did you get it from?"

"Uh… Tayce T's Bakery."

I blinked. "Tayce T's? Where's that? Is it in Beanbean Castle Town?"

Vivian's face turned an even darker shade of magenta. "No. It's in the Mushroom Kingdom."

I almost dropped my fork. "The Mushroom Kingdom? You… you went all the way to the MUSHROOM KINGDOM to get me a cake?"

Vivian nodded. "I wanted it to be perfect."

I gawked at Vivian, my mind reeling over what she had just told me. "You… you… Vivian! That's crazy!"

She chuckled sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I didn't expect you to be mad about this…"

"Mad? I'm not mad at all!" I smiled at her. "You were willing to move Heaven and Earth for me! How could I possibly be mad about something like that? What you did is… is… it's outstanding!"

Vivian let out a breath of relief. "Okay. Good." She looked me in the eye. "And it was nothing, really. I just wanted to show you how special you are to me."

I chuckled. "Well, mission accomplished."

The two of us got right into eating more of the cake. And I swear it got more delicious with each bite I took. It was like I was eating a confection that had been made in the Overthere with the intention of being eaten by an all-powerful God. It really rocked me to the core with how good it was. As such, I couldn't help but appreciate Vivian even more as a friend. She really goes above and beyond what I deserve from a friendship, and this cake was only one example of that. She would support me when times or tough, smile and laugh with me when things were going exactly like I wanted them to. She was amazing, she really was. It almost didn't feel real. Part of me was afraid I would wake up one morning and find out that she had just been a character in my dreams.

"Mmm mmm mmm." I wiped my mouth after finishing with this delectable, scrumptious cake. "That was exquisite." I looked at Vivian. "Seriously, I can't thank you enough Vivian."

"It was nothing." Vivian was picking at her own slice, looking significantly less enthused than I would've expected. I blinked, all at once feeling concerned.

"Vivian, are you okay?"

Vivian bit her lip. "I'm great, I just…" she sighed, putting down her fork. "I just never thought I'd ever reach a milestone like this with a friend. The last friend I had, I only knew her for about a month. The fact that I now have a friend who's stuck by me for a year… I feel like I don't deserve it."

"Why wouldn't you deserve it?" I asked.

"Because…" she sighed. "Because of that previous friend. I had to leave her for… reasons that I'd rather not get into, and I've honestly felt bad about it ever since." She looked me right in the eye. "For the longest time, I felt like I couldn't make friends with anyone else, that I would be a disappointment and a let-down to them. I mean, friends are incredible. They're amazing, they're beyond precious. And… well, when you're someone like me, who has a past that is less than pleasant and a personality that is more than flawed… well, you know."

I gawked at Vivian, on some level not believing what I was hearing. "Vivian." I put on a serious face. "Vivian, sweetie, that's just your insecurities talking. I mean… a personality that is more than flawed? What kind of crazy talk is that? How could you possibly see yourself in that way after everything that you've done for me?"

Vivian shrunk back. "I just… I…" she paused and took a deep breath. "Again, I suppose it's just an after-effect from what happened with my previous friend. Like I said, I had to stop being friends with her after such a short period of time." She whimpered. "It's been eating me alive ever since…"

I leaned closer to her. "Well… even if the reasons why you left her aren't perfect, the fact is, you're one of the best friends I've ever had. You understand me. You get me. You've seen me through some of the most egregious trials of my entire life." I paused. "I mean… do you remember when my mother died?"

Vivian cringed. The event I was referring to happened about five months ago, about three days before my birthday, in fact. That had to have been one of the worst things that ever happened to me. After all, I loved my mother. I hadn't spoken to her in a while, but that was only because she lived so far away from the Beanbean Kingdom. I had been planning to book a plane ride to go see her the day after my birthday, but then I heard that she died before I got to see her for one last time. That stung. It stung worse than the sting of any kind of wasp or hornet.

"Of course, I remember that," Vivian said, her voice low.

I scooted closer to her still. "Vivian, I haven't told you this yet, by the lengths you were willing to go in order to help me with that loss touched me deep down. I don't even think I would've been able to recover if it wasn't for you." I reached across the table and took Vivian's hand. "And sure, what happened with your previous friend sucks beyond a shadow of a doubt. But… well, even though I probably can't take the place of that friend, I want you to know that any bad things you think about yourself because of that incident aren't true. You're amazing in every conceivable way." I grinned. "Every. Conceivable. Way."

Vivian smiled. The expression was a little weak at first, but after a few minutes it managed to blossom into a more fully realized, beautiful form. "Thanks, Bink." She put her hand to her heart. "That's so sweet, it really is."

"I know." I pulled away from her. Realizing that I didn't have a drink, I raised my fork. "Let's do a toast." Vivian blinked before raising her own fork. "To another year of our amazing friendship." I clinked my fork with Vivian's, and when I did, she giggled. She resumed eating her cake, this time without any hang-ups or any regret visible on her face.

"Mmm. This really is good." She giggled as she took another bite. "I should make cross-the-world treks for cake more often."

I laughed. "Well, if you do, you'd better invite me to go with you. Any chance to get away from my hometown and see all the sights the Mushroom World has to offer would be nice."

Vivian giggled. "Just because the sights would be different doesn't mean they would be better. I mean, look at the Koopa Kingdom."

"Well… okay, yeah, that place is pretty drab and gray. But still, I would love to do some traveling. Any traveling really."

"Hmm. Maybe I can arrange that." Vivian swallowed her last bite of cake, and as she wiped her mouth, she looked at me with sparkling eyes. "Now, I have also prepared a present for you. I know how much you love my blankets, so…" She snapped her fingers, causing a blanket to appear. She unfurled it, allowing me to see the message she had crocheted. The words said "Bink and Vivian," and it had a picture of us holding hands while the sun set in the background. "Do you like it?"

I grinned. "Vivian… I love it."