The Friendship Agreement

Chapter 5: Birthday Shananigans

RINI'S POV:

After getting ready for the day, again, we got into his car and started driving. "Where are we going?" I asked, hoping he would give it up.

"Now Rini, you know I don't want to give away the surprise. I love doing things that have a certain amount of shock and awe, but if you know what we are doing, we will lose that."

"But Jamie," I turned towards him pouting a little, "I hate surprises. You know that more than anyone."

"You'll love this one though. Just be patient, or I'll be forced to blindfold you."

"Fine, but you suck!" I said to him, and stuck my tongue out at him for good measure.

"Real mature Rini, I thought you were 29, not 9." Jamie laughed.

"No need to remind me of my age Jamsie, it's just not proper. So tell me more about what you've been up to. What's up with your driver Rafe, he looks like he's a killer in disguise."

"Maybe he is, I hired him to keep naughty birthday girls in line." He said as he wiggled his eyebrows at me.

"Hmmm, isn't that something you would rather do yourself?" I teased.

"You're right. You know the saying, if you want something done right, do it yourself. I guess if you are a bad girl today, I'll have to punish you." I couldn't help but notice how much he looked forward to me misbehaving.

"I guess we will just see how today goes, huh?" I did my best to make my face as innocent as possible, but I don't think he was fooled.

I turned my attention to the window to see if I could find out where we were going, and was surprised to see very familiar surroundings. "Are we going where I think we are?" I questioned him, already knowing the answer.

"Serenity, don't you remember that patience is a virtue? Just hang tight for a couple more minutes." So, I waited for the inevitable.

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JAMIE'S POV:

She knew where I was taking her, I saw it on her face. I decided for her birthday, I would take her to all the places in our life that meant something important to our relationship...starting at the beginning. Rafe stopped the car and we got out at my parent's house.

"Did you let them know we were coming here?" She asked grinning.

"They actually don't know I'm in town yet, I wanted to surprise them."

We reached the door and I rang the doorbell, while we waited for someone to answer the door Rini grabbed my hand. I smiled and turned to see her looking up at me, but right as I was about to say something to her the door opened.

"TRICK-OR-TREAT!!" We both yelled.

"Well, well, well. Look at what we have here. FRANK! COME SEE WHO CAME TO SEE US." The smile on my mom's face was priceless. I hadn't actually seen her in almost two years, even though we talk at least two times a week. I grabbed her in a bear hug, lifting her off of her feet.

"How many times have I told you not to manhandle your mother, you're supposed to treat her like the precious cargo she is." My dad came into the room, patting me on the back. "It's good to see you son. How long have you been in town for?"

"Hey mom, dad. I got in last night. I wanted to surprise you, but it was a little late when I landed so I wanted to wait until today."

They led us into the living room to sit down. I wondered at Rini, she seemed very quiet ever since she figured out we were going to see them. I squeezed her hand to let her know I was here with her.

"Serenity, I haven't seen you since..." My mom started, looking sad.

"Ellen, leave the poor girl be. You know what a hard time she's been going through." My dad softly scolded my mom. "It's your birthday today, isn't it dear?" He asked Rini.

"Yes it is." Rini answered.

"Well what are you two doing here then? You should be out celebrating."

"We were on our way, I have some surprises planned for my girl Rini here. I just wanted to stop in and see you before we went on our way. I haven't seen you guys in a while and missed you, so wanted to get a little family time before we went on our merry way." I answered to lighten the mood.

"Before we go, can I use the restroom?" Rini asked. I thought it was weird to ask since we've know each other since we were little and practically grew up at each other's house.

"Of course dear, take your time," My mom answered.

Rini stood up and went to the hallway that led to the bathroom.

"How's she doing son? I know it's been hard since she lost her parents." My dad asked me.

"I think she's ok. Her boyfriend is a real tool though. Her dad would have hated him." I told them quietly.

"Well, what are your plans for this trip? Anything we should know about?" My mom asked nonchalantly, trying to change the topic.

"Yes, I plan on asking the woman down the hall to marry me. Obviously it won't happen in the next few days, but I came to show her how much I love her and make sure we have all our ducks in a row so we can start our future together."

"It's about time, I've been waiting to have the precious girl in our family since you guys were in kindergarten and she forced you to have a pretend wedding." My mom responded. I was really glad my family loved her as much as they did. I would hate to be one of those guys that has to choose between his family and the woman he loves, it would be impossible.

We continued with the small talk until Rini came back into the room. She looked my way and smiled. "Are you ready to go Jamsie?"

"Most definitely Rini-Nitti! Are you ready for your surprises?"

"There's more than one?" She groaned.

"Only a few, maybe a dozen or so." I replied, winking to her. "Let's go, our first stop awaits."

And so our afternoon went, I took her to the park where I had my first memory of her, miniature golfing at the course I first realized she was my best friend, ice skating at the rink I first realized I loved her, dinner at the diner that we came up with our agreement, and finally, my plan was to take her to the theater and tell her I love her and want to be with her. I rented the whole theater out and wanted to end the night on a high note. When we got back to her place, I made her dress up and covered her eyes with my hands the whole way while Rafe took us to our destination.

"Jamsie, I hate that you're doing this! Can't you just let me know?" I laughed as she whined at me.

"No way Rini-Nitti, I told you, today is all about shock and awe, I have the biggest surprise waiting and I'm pretty sure you'll love this next part most of all."

"More than the ice skating?"

"Oh yes, way more. Now, settle down and just wait, we're almost there."

There are certain perks to being the only ones at the theater, I got to choose whatever seat I wanted. And made sure no one said anything to ruin the surprise. Normally, the orchestra would be playing and the stage is set so you can see. I decided to keep her eyes covered until the lights went off and gave explicit instructions to not play a single note until we were settled and I could reveal the surprise in good fashion. I knew she was going to love this, it was her favorite show, after all. Once we were seated I gave the signal to lower the lights and uncovered her eyes.

"Ok, you can open. It's starting soon." I whispered in her ear.