11 – Stellaluna’s Disappointing Birthday (1)

Stellaluna’s 35th birthday was coming up that Saturday. She wasn’t thrilled at the idea of being one year closer to 40. But it was an excuse to have a gathering focused on her. And to eat cake. Gifts were nice too, but there wasn’t anything Stellaluna wanted. Other than a divorce, followed by literacy. She had yet to do anything with those books she bought so long ago now. What if Barry or a servant walked in on her with them?

“We’ve got big plans on Saturday,” Barry said cheerfully, as they got ready for bed one night.

That was strange. Barry never made “big plans” for her birthday. At most, they’d have a few friends over. Or go out to eat somewhere nice. It was never a big thing. She smiled as she climbed into bed. “Really?”

“Yep. Already discussed it with the Barstow’s. They’re looking forward to it.”

“So Celine will be there?”

“Of course.” Barry crawled into bed, wrapping his arm around her. Normally Stellaluna would try pulling away, but these plans put her in a more tolerable mood. “Sebastian too, and he’s bringing his girlfriend. We finally get to meet her.”

Stellaluna didn’t know what Sebastian and his girlfriend had anything to do with her special day. She didn’t care one way or the other if he showed up. And normally the boy never showed up to their events. “Any reason why?”

“It’s a surprise.” Barry winked.

Now Stellaluna was curious. For once, she looked forward to her birthday.

~~~~~

Sebastian brought Tibby into his bedroom, right before his father came home from work. Now that his mother knew about the dog, he was able to take him out during the day. He just had to hide him from his father now.

Tibby let out a sigh as Sebastian closed his door.

“I know, boy. I know,” Sebastian said. “But if Dad finds out about you, you’ll be back at the pound.”

His watch pinged. Sebastian checked it. Ellie had sent him another “thinking of you” type of text. He winced. The only time he’d think of Ellie, was when she’d contact him.

Sebastian texted back a “miss you too.” He hoped he’d feel some meaning behind them. But the words felt just as empty as they had the first time. Why oh why couldn’t he get himself to miss her?

Like how he missed Axel. The kindness in his eyes. His smile. His caring nature. Every day, Sebastian fought the urge to text Axel and beg for his forgiveness. At least he had a dog now to distract him from caving in.

Besides, why would Axel want anything to do with Sebastian anymore, when he had Jake? Sebastian replayed his usual fantasy of kicking Jake’s ass to win Axel’s love. Axel would frown upon such a thing in real life. It would probably make him more likely to choose Jake. Still, a man could dream.

His daydream took a disturbing turn. Their fist fight turned into a fight over who could rip the other person’s clothes off the fastest. Axel, completely naked, said he’d top the winner. The fantasy led to Sebastian wondering what Axel’s dick looked like.

Nausea struck. What the fuck was wrong with him? He had a girlfriend! Sebastian snatched his phone and texted her a “I can’t stop thinking about how beautiful you looked last time I saw you. I can’t wait to see you again!”

Like Sebastian could even remember what she wore that day. His mind wandered over to how good Axel’s ass looked in a tight pair of jeans. He squeezed his eyes shut as another wave of nausea overcame him. This was disgusting. He needed to stop.

Tibby moved over to Sebastian, and rested his head on his thigh.. It was although the dog had sensed Sebastian’s distress. Sebastian scratched Tibby behind the ears. “At least you don’t make me feel like shit.”

A car pulled up outside. Most likely Waylon, coming home from work. Sebastian supposed he should go downstairs to greet him, lest he barge into the room and see Tibby.

Sebastian bumped into his father at the top of the stairs. Waylon barely said “hello” before laying in on him. “Have you met Ellie’s parents yet?”

Sebastian took a step back. He hadn’t. Ellie always wanted to come to Sebastian’s house. Apparently, her parents would never allow him in her room. “No.”

“You’ve been together for how long now?”

“I don’t know.” Sebastian could never keep track of time. “A month, maybe?”

“You are taking this relationship seriously, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then go meet her parents. Better yet, how about your mother and I meet them too. We can all go out for dinner tomorrow.”

“That sounds last minute.”

“This needs to happen before Saturday! When I announce my governor run, I want you and Ellie there so everyone can see you’re finally normal. I’d like her parents to come too. But it’s awkward to invite them when I haven’t even met them yet.”

“I’ll ask her.”

“Good.” Waylon walked to his bedroom, while Sebastian returned to his own to send Ellie the text.

~~~~~

Stellaluna hummed happily as she walked through the hallways, passing the occasional servant. Barry had left the house to buy “supplies” for Saturday. He must be working hard to make her day a special one. She wondered what the decorations would look like. Up ahead, she spotted Yannick talking to another young male servant. She’d seen him around before, but didn’t know his name. He nudged his elbow against Yannick’s arm as Stellaluna came closer. She caught them exchanging a few, gibberish words. Probably German. Yannick ran his fingers through his hair, while his friend said something that sounded like “shatzi” in a teasing tone, and walked away before Yannick could respond.

“What were you talking about?” Stellaluna asked Yannick.

“Nothing,” he said quickly. “You look… happy. Good news?”

“Oh yes. It’s my birthday on Saturday. And Barry is actually planning something big. He never plans anything big!”

“Really?” Yannick looked as surprised as Stellaluna felt. “That is… strange.”

“Strange?”

“Yes. It is not like him…” Yannick furrowed his brow, possibly trying to work out a translation in his head. “That he for you something nice to do.”

“I know, right? He must be feeling guilty or something. Had a change of heart.”

“Maybe. I hope all goes good for you.”

“Thank you!”

Yannick made a move to leave, but paused, and turned around. “What like you?”

“Huh?”

“Umm…” Yannick scratched the back of his head, eyes averted. “Your man. What want he you give?”

“What do I want Barry to give me?” That was a strange question. Quite frankly, she was grateful to get anything from him. “I haven’t thought about it.”

“Do you like flowers or chocolate?”

Both were nice. Flowers were pretty, but Stellaluna had a bit of a sweet tooth. “Chocolate.”

“Good to know.” Smiling, Yannick gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder, and left.

What was that about? With a shrug, Stellaluna continued her wandering- this time thinking of chocolate. She especially liked milk chocolate with cream fillings inside.

Now she was hungry. She headed towards the kitchen, right into Barry. He held several bags of something. Stellaluna caught sight of red and white ribbons peeking out the top of one.

He noticed her gaze and smiled. “Tomorrow’s the big day!”

“Oh yes.” Stellaluna returned his smile. “Can’t wait!”

“I ordered a large cake for the occasion. They’re going to deliver it tomorrow morning.”

Something Stellaluna already assumed. But a large one, being delivered? It must be fancy and expensive. “What’s it look like?”

“You’ll have to wait and see.” Barry smiled and winked. For a second, Stellaluna saw the man she had swooned over, all those years ago. Almost twenty years, now that she thought about it.

“Any other surprises?” Her mind jumped to presents. What kind of gift would he get her?

“That, my dear, is a surprise.”

~~~~~

Sebastian found himself at a nice restaurant somewhere between Gilran and Redding. He sat in between Ellie and his father. His mother sat across from him, next to Ellie’s mother, who sat next to Ellie’s father.

“It’s so great to finally meet you,” Ellie’s mother said. “Ellie has told us so much about you.”

Sebastian had already forgotten her parents’ names. “You too.”

“The mayor’s son.” Her father nudged Ellie. “You won the jackpot.”

“Yeah.” Ellie gazed at Sebastian with a dreamy-eyed smile.

Sebastian struggled to mimic her expression. “I’m the lucky one.”

Ellie giggled, and held his hand. Sebastian’s stomach twisted. He pulled his hand away to grab a piece of bread from the complimentary bread basket.

The parents moved on to talking about Waylon’s job as mayor. Waylon, of course, talked about how he had big news coming.

“You’ll find out tomorrow!” Waylon said with a grin.

Ellie leaned against Sebastian for several minutes before Sebastian remembered what he was supposed to do in this situation. He wrapped his arm around her, somehow feeling dirtier than he ever had around Axel.

This was ridiculous. One month of faking it, one month of no-contact with Axel, and nothing had changed. Sebastian was still repulsed by Ellie, and still had disturbing fantasies about Axel.

He couldn’t keep living like this. And it wasn’t fair to Ellie. He needed to break up with her.

His father would be furious if he did it before his governor run announcement though. He’d have to wait until that news died down. Maybe next weekend, he’d do it.