Just as I told myself that I would have to sit there and act like it didn’t bother me, the entire guests near the entrance cheered, making Tiffany and Grayson stop dancing. I wanted to thank whoever was responsible so badly.
My head turned and I spotted Mrs Aldridge walking in first, her shimmering dress making her stand out even more. Behind her was Mr Aldridge, his hand in the pocket of his tailored suit, as usual. I had never seen him in anything else. She was the only vibing to the music with a light head bop while he didn’t seem interested in it.
Behind him was a cake with four tiers covered in black and gold fondant. The top also had sparkles. It looked so good that I wanted to taste it right away. We all got out of our seats for a closer look, except for Kate.
Mrs Aldridge stopped right near the DJ Booth, pointing at the DJ so he could cut the music and he had no choice but to oblige.
“Thank you all for coming to my son’s birthday! Where’s my darling son? Oh, here he comes!”
The whole place erupted in loud cheers as Maddox approached with a small smile.
She made him stand right between her and his father, then held onto the side of his arm before she spoke.
“I made sure to use gold leaf for the lettering. That’s right. I baked this cake myself. Doesn’t it look spectacular?” Her eyes rolled back as she bragged.
They gave her a round of applause, making her place a hand on her chest as she nodded a few times with a smile, but she paused when she spotted me, shooting me a glare while keeping that smile.
She quickly looked away, leading everyone into singing the Happy Birthday song. Maddox looked polished while standing there but his eyes didn’t match the rest of his face. He just looked like someone playing the role of the birthday boy.
She clapped theatrically when he cut into the cake and said, “Make sure you get the bottom layer, honey. There’s some red velvet in it, my favorite.” She proudly tilted her chin.
As soon as he put down the knife, she didn’t wait for anyone and picked up a piece to feed him. He took it without protest and even let her dab the corner of his mouth with a napkin. Everyone was amazed and even took pictures and videos of that sweet moment,
“We have a present for you,” she said, taking out a small emerald green box from her handbag and handing it to him.
He opened it, holding up a pair of silver keys. “And what are these?”
“Keys, isn’t it obvious?” She made the crowd chuckle. “Remeber that estate that was up for sale, Larkspur Hills? Your father and I bought it. We thought you deserved it for working so hard and it’s worthy of your name.”
Zoey and Ella gasped behind me.
Everyone seemed more impressed than he was as he only gave another polished smile.
“Thank you,” he said with the same energy one would use when talking about the nice weather.
“You’re welcome, son.” His father nodded at him like that was some kind of performance review.
Just as Tiffany was about to reveal her present, another voice cut through the air. It was loud, teasing and completely unapologetic.
“Is that the birthday punk I see or maybe some kid pretending like this is his party?”
Maddox’s energy shifted right away. He turned so fast Tiffany lost her grip on his arm. His smile now reached his eyes as his entire face lit up. He quickly pushed through the crowd like he was impatient to get to someone.
Following the source of the voice and how the other guests had begun to step back to make him stand out, I spotted a handsome man around Mr Aldridge’s age. He was in a white pair of smart pants, his brown cap matching his shirt. He opened his arms wide with a warm smile, waiting for Maddox.
“Uncle!” he said when he was close enough.
They hugged each other a little too long, like two people who hadn’t seen each other in years and they both laughed loudly. I chuckled in amazement that Maddox was actually laughing.
Breaking the hug, he turned to face the crowd with his arm thrown over his uncle’s shoulder.
“Everyone,” Maddox said with so much enthusiasm, “this is my Uncle Sebastian. Feel free to mingle with him, just don’t let him teach you how to gamble!”
As the crowd laughed, his uncle made it seem like he’d put him in a head lock, and he laughed again as he looked through the crowd but the moment he spotted me, his expression went blank. He’d been showing off how happy he was to everyone after his uncle had arrived, but seeing me gave him the realization that I had once again seen the difference and this time, it was perfectly clear.
Maybe he was tired of pretending because when our eyes met again and his uncle said something to him, he laughed hard.
“Alright!” Uncle Sebastian clapped his hands loudly. “Now that we’ve got that boring estate part out of the way,” he gave Mrs Aldridge a smirk that made her sneer, “how about something a little…. faster?”
Everyone wondered what was going on and he quickly took Maddox outside, all of us just following along as we wondered what it was we were going to find.
Right outside was a beast of a jet black motorbike. It looked like it was built for danger and those who were familiar with the thrill of riding one of those, whistled a few times.
While everyone was impressed, Ella leaned towards me to whisper. “Okay but isn’t that motorbike like not even close to the price of the estate his parents just gave him? It’s not a big deal. It’s just a bike.”
I was with Ella and Zoey, the three of us walking around with arms folded.
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