2:25 Swag

It was Zaiden’s birthday. He was 18 which made him a legal adult. It was about time.

The only thing that he would miss was seeing Raelynn at school.

He knew that Rowana was planning a surprise party for him. She didn’t do a very good job hiding it.

Zaiden was excited about the party. He would get to hang out with some of his friends. He was most excited to see Emma. Since she moved in with Max, she didn’t visit the house. Zaiden would only see her at school.

He frowned when he saw the clothes in the bedroom with the note telling him that he needed to wear them for dinner. Was he wrong about the party? Were they going out somewhere instead?

Rowana came in already dressed. “Hurry and get dressed, darling. You don’t want to be late for dinner.” She left the room just as quickly as she came in.

Zaiden put on the clothes that she had put out for him. He had never worn a tux before, so this was new for him. He did have to admit that it looked nice. The woman did know how to pick out nice clothes.

He took one last look in the mirror before heading downstairs.

He noticed that all the lights were off. They must have left without him.

“Surprise!”

Zaiden jumped slightly when the lights came on. He looked around the room at the people there. They were all Rowana’s friends. Not one of his was there. Not even Emma and Hope were there.

Rowana kissed Zaiden’s cheek. “Happy birthday, Darling.”

As if the guest list wasn’t bad enough, the dinner was even worse. Being only one of two men at the table, Zaiden was a bit uncomfortable.

Most of the talk at dinner was about the baby. Every time they asked if he was happy or excited, he just nodded and smiled. He knew that if he opened his mouth, his true feelings would come out.