I felt you in my life before I ever thought to

[neither_a_nor_b]

When she’d woken up on the morning of the 22nd and found herself still in one place, Bay had breathed a sigh of relief. The last couple birthdays had been kind of a crapshoot for her and Daphne, ending up in a new dimension every other year so it was nice to actually make it a year in one place.

Sure, it was almost Halloween and sure something was probably doomed to go to hell before the end of the month, but not today. Today Daphne had made a cake and some mexican rice and was planning a shrimp taco spread. Bay was cooking up some ground beef with spices while the contents of the alcohol cabinet waited for her to do some mixing later. They’d sent out invitations to their friends via text, and both were looking forward to a chill, low-key birthday party for their 19th.

Daphne had made sure not to book any catering jobs for today, but she still had her daily orders for some of the local coffee shops and service stations in the city. She’d gotten those taken care of, then come home and baked and frosted the cake and helped Bay clean and decorate. If she wanted to last more than 20 minutes at her own party, though, she’d decided a nap was a good idea.

She woke feeling much more refreshed and coherent and wandered out to find Bay cooking up ground beef for the red meat eaters that would be attending. “Hey,” she greeted her sister, peering over Bay’s shoulder into the pan before stepping back. “I’m going to get changed while you finish that up, then I’ll get the shrimp cooking while you get ready. Sound good?”

“Yeah, sounds good. I just got a slew of ‘on my way’ texts but the taco filling is ready.” Proving her point, she took the beef off the stove and tipped all of it into a serving bowl. “I’m gonna stick it in the microwave, so we can nuke it if we need.”

“Actually, I’ve got a better idea.” Daphne grinned and ducked into her room, coming back out with a large box. “I bought myself a birthday present, sort of,” she explained, opening one end of the box and starting to pull out the pieces to the new electronic warmer she’d picked up yesterday. “Just give the dishes a quick wash and we should be good to go. This should keep the food warm through the whole party. Beef in one, shrimp in one, and rice in the third?” She shoved the packing materials back into the box, ready to tuck into her closet just in case something went wrong and she needed to return it.

“That is so fancy,” Bay said, genuinely impressed as she scraped the beef into the first dish. “Okay, you change, I’ll clean.”

“Okay.” Daphne went back into her room, stashed the box and quickly changed, then stopped in the bathroom to pull her hair back and put a little makeup on before taking over in the kitchen so Bay could get ready, getting her shrimp cooking as she made sure all of the food and mixers were ready for people’s arrival.

It didn’t take much time for her to get ready. Bay took a quick shower to get the smell of food out of her hair and off her skin. By the time she was finished blow-drying, Bay heard the first knock on the door. The party had started.

Comments

[arrowette]

Cissie beamed at Daphne and hugged her tightly, waiting until she let go and could see her face. "Thank you for inviting me! You know I wouldn't miss this for anything!"

[happy_dsign]

"I mean, you'd better not, but still. Thanks." It meant a lot to her, that she had Bay and Cissie and Dave, even though she'd made new friends in Darrow. Cissie knew parts of her life that new friends just couldn't understand. "So hey, another year in the same place. That's cause for a celebratory drink, right?"

[arrowette]

"I think that's cause for two," Cissie grinned. She and Daphne had been through a lot together, both here and on the island. That they were still here and more or less in one piece was definitely worth a drink or two.

[happy_dsign]

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get to drinking." Daphne laughed and headed for the drinks. "What do you want?"

[arrowette]

Cissie grinned and followed her. She looked over the table, trying to decide what she felt like having. "Hmm, I don't know. Do I want something mixed or just a beer?"

[happy_dsign]

"That depends on whether you want to ease into the buzz or just jump in both feet first," Daphne pointed out with a grin. "Personally, I'm going for the second one." But with something simple to mix, a rum and coke.

[arrowette]

"Both feet first for sure," Cissie grinned. "Especially with, you know, this being a birthday party and all. So, I'm thinking - why not a screwdriver?"

[happy_dsign]

"Screwdriver?" Daphne repeated, signing it as well. "Oh, good idea. I think I'll do that, too."

[arrowette]

"Excellent," Cissie signed as she spoke. "Who's making them - you or me?"

[happy_dsign]

"You, obviously. It's my birthday, I shouldn't have to mix my own drink," Daphne teased, grinning. "Especially since I made the cake and the...well, everything but the beef, really."