Page 39 of Our Elliana

“Ready,” Jackson states, sounding maybe a tad out of breath, and then Tristan’s hand falls off my face.

My mouth drops open as I peer about. I’m on my back patio, but this doesn’t resemble what I remember it looking like. The brick and flagstones shaped into a broad oval are the same, but the landscaping has been completely refreshed.

The dry and scraggly brown bushes that I’d been ignoring since they aren’t front-facing and visible to the neighborhood have been replaced with an array of boxwoods, flowering plants, and even some new trees.

That’s not all, either. There’s a fucking koi pond situated at the exact center. A koi pond featuring footlong fish with splashes of bright red, yellow, and orange on white fins. These are just like the ones I observed as a kid at the National Arboretum. I can’t believe it.

Only at that point do my three men—Noah has appeared like magic as if out of nowhere—shout a single word at me.

“Surprise!”

Then, they begin to sing the Birthday Song, and heat floods the back of my eyes. I’m so touched I don’t know what to say. As they’re singing, Tristan waves his arms at this spread of food on my cement picnic table which appears to have been given either a facelift or a deep power-washing.

At the center of the spread is a lit two-tiered birthday cake decorated with tons of red roses made from frosting. Real red roses decorate the table, too, and as I look down, I see that the path I’ve been guided down is littered with red rose petals. It’s beautiful and smells heavenly.

Noah has been approaching and once there’s only about ten feet of distance between us, he brings something out from behind his back.

It’s a cat. A precious bundle of gray and black striped fur with white paws on its front feet. And on one of its back ones. Oh my God, it’s the most adorable creature I’ve ever laid eyes on.

I start to reach toward the thing when it flips out, scrambling to be free, and leaps like a flying squirrel out of Noah’s grasp, scampering away.

“Oh, no,” I whisper-cry, terrified it’ll run off and escape.

“That’s okay,” Tristan assures me as he gestures toward something I’m just this instant detecting. “It can’t get out. This is a screened-in catio. See?” He’s right. They’ve screened in about half of my backyard. The screen stretches above the pergola over the table and the koi pond to attach to the top of my wooden privacy fence.

He peers at Jackson who takes over the explanation. “We installed a weatherproof cat tree and a cat door, so the kitty here can wander outside anytime we leave it open. The fuzzball will have free reign.”

“If you’re okay with all of this,” Noah adds, his body language tentative. “Our small project turned into quite a lot.”

“It’s incredible. Better than my wildest dreams. I love it.”

All three men surround me in one massive hug and being encased by them like this is as good as the birthday surprise. It also gives me ideas for the future. I like having my guys this close at the same time.

“Better blow out your candles before the cake is covered in wax,” Tristan reminds me, and I do as he advises.

I would make a wish, but they’ve just made a bunch of them I never thought would happen come true.

Today is beautiful, a sunny sixty-eight, but lately the weather has been cold and windy, which means they must’ve somehow accomplished this colossal feat in much shittier conditions.

“How did you do this?” I ask them.

Tristan and Noah both shrug as Jackson lifts his customary smirk to his lips. Those juicy, full lips. Then, it hits me. This is why Jackson hasn’t been joining me for lunch. He was here. I’m tempted to smack myself on the forehead. I’m that blown the fuck away.

“It was Tristan’s idea,” Noah says. “And he and Jackson came up with the plans.”

“We all pitched in to get it done. Couldn’t have accomplished near as much without Jackson or the kid,” Tristan admits, as candid as always.

I adore that about him.

“We made sure to do the loudest bits while you were at Blingblang,” Jackson tacks on. “Many hands made light work.”

I really don’t know what to say or how to react. Realizing these guys went so above and beyond warms something deep inside of me that I’ve been keeping locked away. They didn’t have to do any of this, yet they did.

I’m still wrapping my head around this embarrassment of riches as we sit down and eat another succulent Tristan meal consisting of every one of my favorites. The birthday cake is of the chocolate ice cream variety, just like I mentioned. He even made a key lime pie with my name spelled out in whipped cream in addition to everything else.

I’m on cloud nine.

“I haven’t had a birthday this special since my dad died. Thank you. Thank you all so much.” It takes a few swallows to keep tears from saturating my voice.

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