Chapter 6 The Birthday Celebration

Cindy woke up the following morning feeling happy and full, as it was a bright Saturday morning. She sat up on her bed, stepped down, wore her slippers, and stretched a few times.

She yawned as stretching every morning was part of her daily routine, as she exercised to keep her body, shape, and mind fit.

Cindy was a lawyer, and she was smart, though she didn't stress on always wanting to win her client's cases. She still usually won, and most people she had helped to win their cases still recommended her services to some of their friends. Even though she charged heavily, she still ensured to win her clients' cases and ensure that justice prevailed.

Cindy had everything she wanted: a good job, house, family, and though she would've loved to have more siblings, her parents weren't poor, and they provided all she needed, as she never lacked.

Cindy thought about Jeremy Lukeman for a while and shook her head, as she hadn't yet met him. Though she knew his father was a politician, she wondered what kind of man Jeremy would be, as she didn't even bother to search about him online.

Cindy stood up from the tiled floor and walked to her bathroom to brush her teeth and freshen up before leaving the house.

She stepped out and walked to her wardrobe to take out the white suit she had bought the previous day, as she was attending Lora's birthday party at noon.

After Cindy was done dressing up in her room, she got a phone call and picked it up.

"Hello?" Cindy said, and Lora responded, "Hi, girlfriend. It's me, Lora Adams. Are you coming today, and when do you intend visiting?" Lora asked her, and Cindy replied, "Sure, I will. Send me the address again."

"Fine, I will, but don't forget to bring me a special birthday present when you're coming," Lora reminded her.

"Of course, I won't forget," Cindy said. "Bye, and I'm coming over, birthday girl. Have fun," Cindy said as the phone call with Lora finally ended. She sighed, took out her purse, and inserted her phone into it, as she really wanted to go shopping for another gift to give to Lora.

Cindy walked up to her room mirror and applied her pink lip gloss, as she simply made up her face, being naturally fair in complexion and cute, and she didn't like rubbing a lot of makeup on her face.

"Done," Cindy smiled at her reflection in the mirror, her heart excited, as her hair didn't need any combing since she had already weaved it before.

Cindy walked out of her room and went downstairs to the living room to find her mother. She saw her mother sitting on the living room couch, and as she stepped into the living room, she saw the time was 8 a.m.

"Good morning, Mom," Cindy greeted her mother as she approached her.

Mrs. Bola smiled and replied, "Morning, Cindy. Going somewhere? You're looking so beautiful in your executive white suit."

"Thanks, Mom. My friend I spoke to you about before, Lora Adams, is having her birthday party today in her mom's house, and she invited me over," Cindy said.

"Oh, that's nice of her. How about her father?" Mrs. Bola questioned, and Cindy shrugged.

"I don't know, Mom. You know I don't like prying or asking any irrelevant questions that might make one uncomfortable," Cindy said.

"That's fine. Send my regards to her. Assuming you told me on time, Esther and I could've followed you there, since we have nothing to do at home."

"Mom!" Cindy stared at her mother in shock and shook her head.

"What's wrong with what I just said? Am I too old to attend birthday parties too?" Mrs. Bola asked, and Cindy gulped and only smiled.

"I don't know, Mom. Let me have my breakfast first. I still need to go to the shopping mall to get another gift for Lora, maybe a piece of jewelry, as I forgot yesterday."

"Alright. Esther already made our teas," Mrs. Bola said.

"Okay, Mom," Cindy replied and walked over to the dining table to sit, while Esther stepped out from the kitchen and greeted her, "Good morning, Cindy."

"Morning," Cindy replied curtly, relieved that Esther didn't try to call her "Aunt."

Mrs. Bola only shook her head and smiled as she sat on her usual dining seat, and soon they resumed having their breakfast.

After breakfast with her mother and cousin ended, Cindy went back upstairs to her room, took the jewelry box containing a diamond-encrusted necklace, and left their mansion, thinking to give it to Lora.

Cindy got into her red car and drove out, going to the shopping mall first, as it was still 10 a.m. She parked at the mall car park, hoping to see her handsome crush again as she stared around the area.

"Where do I find him now? Or is it too early?" Cindy murmured, stepping down from her car and locking the door, as she didn't see many people shopping, unlike the previous day, as the road looked calm and cleared.

Cindy stood for a while, staring around, and after much hesitation, she got back into her car and decided to head to Lora's mother's home first, not wanting to arrive late.

Arriving at Lora's mother's mansion, a few friends were already gathered. Cindy drove into their garage and parked, stepping down from her car as Lora rushed up to meet and welcome her.

"Welcome, girlfriend," Lora squealed excitedly as she hugged Cindy, who hugged her back.

"Happy birthday to you, Lora," Cindy said, smiling.

"Thank you," Lora replied, and Cindy looked around their house as they both walked in.

Mrs. Becky Adams already knew that Cindy was her daughter's best friend, as Cindy usually visited her former home and was a very good friend to Lora.

"Good morning, Ma," Cindy greeted Lora's mother.

"Welcome, my dear," Mrs. Becky replied, wondering how Cindy and her daughter became friends, as Lora was totally different from Cindy. To her observation, Cindy was more like herself - aloof, while Lora was talkative and mostly friendly.

"Happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday to you," the group of friends gathered in Lora's mother's living room sang a birthday song for Lora, presenting their gifts and asking Lora to make a wish.

Cindy's mind wasn't even on the celebrant or the birthday song, as she wasn't happy that she didn't see the handsome, light-skinned man she had gone to search for at the shopping mall area.

She managed to fake a smile throughout Lora's birthday celebration, so it wouldn't seem like she was jealous or unhappy for Lora.

After staying a few more hours in Lora's mom's home and watching the group of friends dancing happily, Cindy finally stood up to take her leave, as she had given Lora her gift and wanted to return to the mall area to see if she would see the light-skinned man again.

"Lora, I'm leaving," Cindy waved to Lora, who was still busy hugging more of her friends that were arriving with gifts, and Lora replied, "Wait, Cindy! Don't go yet!"

Cindy frowned and decided to wait back in their living room while Lora continued to accept more gifts and thank most of her friends and students from her mother's polytechnic for visiting.

Cindy later stood up and went outside to stare around, and Lora quickly excused herself from her friends and rushed up to meet Cindy, who stood beside her red car.

"I'm sorry for keeping you waiting, girlfriend. Here's my gift, as thanks for coming," Lora handed a packaged present to Cindy, who collected it and asked, "What's in it?"

Lora blushed and said, "Don't worry, when you get home and open it by yourself, you'll find out."

"Lora..." Cindy's eyes narrowed at Lora in suspicion, and she finally replied, "Okay then. Bye."

Cindy pulled away from Lora's hug and walked back to her car.

"Lora, you still have some friends waiting for you inside," Mrs. Becky called out to Lora, who stepped away for Cindy to drive out and waved goodbye to Cindy as she watched her get into her red car, ignite the accelerator, and drive away carefully from their mansion.

Cindy sighed and relaxed a bit, thinking of going back to the shopping mall area to search for her heartthrob. But she didn't want to seem desperate.

"What if I don't get to see the man again? What do I say to him if I see him?" Cindy honked her car's horn as she drove to a corner beside Lora's street to park and think about what she would do properly.