More Than just Birthday Wishes!

We left Alex to do his work, we were not going to interfere because they seemed to be having weird chemistry that we didn't want to get involved in. The only problem was that Alex was not putting in more effort and that was kinda making it seem fake. I feel like Pete can't just give up the people he loves, he would rather take you through corners than let you know what's going on.

We signalled our man and asked him to tell us when everything is done so that they can take him home for his surprise. 

We went back into the vehicle, to wait for everything to be done. I didn't know how to ask Dominic about Claire's project. Though I had to know if Dee was avoiding me. Am I scared or worried? That, I don't know, maybe I am just alerted about her recent behaviours. Most of the time she is up early and when I go out to look for her she is probably with Claire and comes a bit later all dressed up like someone who went to do something important in the morning. The issue is that, I can't hear her come in or go out, I don't hear the shower running even a bit so I don't know what is going on.

"Do you know any project that Claire is working on?" 

Dominic startled me with that question. I didn't know how to respond because I wanted to ask the same question.

"I don't know any of it, you might know because you kept in touch with her while she was away," I said and Dominic just looked out through the tainted windows.

"Claire learnt a lot of things in those years. She is good with architecture, computer programming, Martial arts and she even has a foundation that mostly does its work under the water to avoid being recognized but I know she will be launching ut soon, so to say I know what she is doing exactly, I don't know,"

Maybe he was clueless like me. No one knows anything, as much as we are trying to remember anything, we don't.

Then I remember she said that she was going to do some design for a house in Istanbul, it was my idea to come here so I doubt it.

Leaving that subject, I may not know, maybe they are engaging in their project as sisters and women and I don't need to know anything about it. Maybe it's allowing Dee to learn about new things. Let me hope so.

"They are done, I think we should stand at a safer distance and let them bring him out."

I cruised our vehicle to a hidden corner, though it was going to be stupid because Pete was not looking at anything and his eyes were folded. 

We watched as they placed him in the car and Alex run in our direction. 

The plan was to drive fast and arrive at the house before he gets there and that was just going to work as expected.  Though we still had to be sure that Pete was not going to hurt anyone inside the other vehicle so we had to keep tabs on him.

"You really can't shoot man?" Asked Dominic when Alex was in the car.

"Dude, I tried my best, stop being like that, man, " he said in his British accent.

"I thought I could recruit you to my company but too bad, I don't see the capability of you doing that," said Dominic kissing his teeth.

Arriving at the hotel, we asked packed our vehicle behind the garage to hide it from Pete and took the elevator to our room. 

We were greeted with the birthday caps, Dee seriously wanted to make sure I get this on my head, well maybe I should do it because it's Pete's day and I didn't want to ruin anything.

Done with everything, we watched the guards throw him out of the vehicle, he had his hands tied but they didn't cut the strains. Pete stood in front of the hotel, he looked up and then looked at the vehicle that had just left him. He was finding it hard to decide on what he wanted to do, come upstairs or run after the vehicle.

"Come up, Pete, come up," said Claire while looking at the security screen. 

Finally, he walked into the elevator and tried all he could to remove the strings from his hands, he was not out of the place, his clothes were in order, just like we told Alex to get him into new clothes. The strains were off and he held them in his hands when he arrived on our floor, it was like he was getting ready to strangle anyone who was on his way, all furious. 

"Alex, what did you do to him?" I asked once I saw the anger plastered all over his face.

"Just what people do to their victims," he said and was on the sofa sipping his wine. 

He stepped out of the elevator but didn't walk out yet, the room was in darkness and at the same time, some little light from the street was illuminating every area in the house. 

He walked in slowly, holding the strains in his hands like they were the only weapon he had. 

He went for the telephone in the corner of the house after accessing around and he couldn't see anyone. 

We waited for him to hold the handles and the lights were switched on and everybody shouted in front of him: 

                            "happy birthday!"

He shrieked out and dropped the phone, looking at us. 

"Dude, it is your birthday,, cheer up," said Dominic seeing him in the state of shock. 

I almost started regretting, that maybe the kidnapping was a bad idea and we could have used something different.

"Are you guys serious? Someone just tried to kidnap me, and you are here singing happy birthday, you need to be careful, Dominic and you, didn't come after me when you didn't find me where I was because the person lied to you that I will be back, what the fuck are you doing here you fucking liar!"

Pete was charging toward Alex, and he had his hands in a fist ready to punch his cute face.

"It was a plan, Pete, there was no way to make you convinced so we used the kidnap for your birthday and brought your favourite person in, I know you wanted him around but he can only be around till tomorrow, so here he is, and maybe you can stop with the anger."

He looked at us with realization. It's like he was acknowledging something. He was seeing something that he didn't think he will see. 

"So, that's why Dee was asking me what I want for a present now and then and what I would want to be done to me," He asked and we nodded.

"Fuck, you guys got me, Dee, I am sorry for thinking otherwise," he said while looking at Dee.

Dee moved forward and hugged him, "no worries, you are my brother and we always love giving our brothers surprise after surprise."

"I am happy guys for the surprise, I didn't even know it was my birthday, I am still grateful, for all of your effort and for what you do for me, at least I can say I am finally twenty-six and I can say, I have more than I had imagined of. Thanks, guys."

He had sincere words from his mouth and we were happy that he was finally happy, he was been happy, cheeky, a kind fella and all we could ever wish for is his happiness, nothing more or less about it.

The party began when he popped the champagne and drank from the bottle,  no one wanted the champagne again but we took the new bottles because the way Pete was drinking from his bottle, was like a baby, pouring some on his clothes and pouring some back into the bottle. 

"Jeez, your birthday doesn't mean you act like a baby, Pete, drink that bottle nicely," shouted Dominic.

"Hell no, this was the day I was born, so, literally I am a baby, what do you think?" 

Dominic shook his head and decided to let him be.

The buffet arrived just in time and everyone was doing some self-serving, Pete was the one supposed to serve the meal first but he asked Dee to walk in first and do the serving. Dee wanted the fried lamb first and it was only fair to let her have the first serve. 

It was all a happy day, just as Dee had predicted it. I didn't want to ruin it, though I wanted Dee next to me, looks like she was enjoying the company of Claire more than she looked in my direction. Is she going to avoid me the whole night today? I needed to be next to her just feel her, we never spent time apart like this, at this time, she could be snuggling on my chest, pinching my hairy chest and playing with my cheeks.

Am I jealous that she spent more time with Claire than me? 

I truly don't know, what I know is that I want to be next to her for a second. It's like she is this drug that I need to take and be sure that I am okay but now I have not taken it and I feel a lot weird. It's an addiction.

"Just go get her for a second, your eyes look like they are going to pierce her and kill the living out of her," Dominic said.

I just looked at him and acted like I was not concentrating on her. 

"Don't be silly, I am just looking at those men behind them, they are drinking heavily and someone is going to puke in this whole room."

"Don't be stupid, okay, look at Dee carefully, are you seeing any changes in her body? It's like she had lost some weight, not easily noticeable but looks like she had lost some," said Dominic.

I quickly took a look at her via my glass, I could see those differences, the dress was loosely hanging on her body and the cheekbones were being a little sharper. 

"You know that happens when you move to drier parts of the world and I can say it's because we went to Egypt," 

Dominic nodded, I wonder how I couldn't see those changes, Dominic is more observant, maybe I need to be more observant and check my baby out rather than want to possess her every time and dont even see the changes in her body.

"Are you sure she is not over-drinking, being the last born, I am afraid she might start shouting and puking all over the place," 

"She will just stop it after sometimes, look at Claire feeding her another bottle, this is going to hurt her the most. She better reduce it," I told Dominic.

Claire is used to drinking, but Dee is not. The way Claire is giving her a whole bottle of champagne is going to give her a bad headache when she wakes up. She better be prepared for that tomorrow morning.

"Let them enjoy the night, we are celebrating and it's not like we are going to die tonight, so let them be," said Dominic and pulled me towards the birthday boy.

Claire initiated the cake cutting ceremony. Pete had to make a wish but his big wish that he prayed for was love and health for everyone. We couldn't have any other wish apart from that. 

After the cake, it was now official that he was twenty-six. The booze was given and it was party after party.

********************************************************

Dee's P.O.V

"I am not feeling good, I want to puke,"

Claire was shouting over the place. This is the third time she had puked today. I looked at her face, I was the one supposed to puke the first but look at her now wanting to puke all over the place.

I grabbed her hand and led her to the washroom, where she puked her guts out. I held her hair up and allowed her to puke all she wanted.

"Are you sure there is nothing in your belly, Siz?"

That came out as a joke, there was nothing in her belly, if not for the alcohol she jas been taking g ever since we started this party.

"God, I don't know, why do you say that?" She asked washing her mouth with water. 

"Because you puked in the morning and the mid-afternoon, that's not weird I am starting to feel like you are going to be a mother soon," I said splashing on my face.

"Ooh, no, don't tell me I gave my baby alcohol siz" she started panicking all over the place. She was not even sure of what was wrong with her. She was just making assumptions. I don't even know how pregnant people behave, This is probably just some false alarm.

"Does Dominic want babies?" I asked looking at her.

"Want? He loves babies and always asks me if we can have one but I have been adamant, more so we are on birth control and I am not pregnant, now, because it can't happen, " she said looking at me.

I told you it was a false alarm and you thought it was a joke, she can't be pregnant at this time.

"What if you are?" I asked.

"I would love the baby very much like nothing I have ever loved, trust me, I will cuddle with the baby every time, I am ready to leave everything behind just to make sure no one hurts the baby, I don't want my child to pass through something without me knowing."

You could see her eyes, it's like she thought she was pregnant, the way she was rubbing her tummy back and forth. 

"I am scared to get pregnant. It's like when I was told my mother had a deformed baby, since that day I am afraid of being pregnant. I don't know what I am going to bring into the world, will Jake accept the baby, in case he is the father or the world will resent me and throw me away?"

I couldn't control my teats. Just imaging all that scared me. I don't know what I was going to do. Maybe it's just not for me.

Claire hugged me, tightly as we sat on the washroom floor hugging each other. 

"You don't need to be, you are going to be okay, push all those weird thoughts out of your mind and be happy, it will kill you to think about that and you are not yet there, I know you will have a healthy baby, without any problems and she will be okay don't be stressed," she said. 

I didn't know why I am always sad about it. Maybe I should be free the way Claire is saying.

"Okay, can we be serious now, are you pregnant or not?" I asked looking at her.

"Hell no, I am not pregnant, not today, I know because I have some mild cramps and my moon starts tomorrow, so sorry if you wanted to be an aunty," she said looking at me.

"Urgh! The way I wanted to be the one babysitting her or him every day," I pouted looking at her.

Claire laughed at me, I was anticipating it you know, maybe to be called an aunty for once and then be happy. Turns out I am going to wait longer for that period of being called an aunty.

"Maybe you should go I need to fix my dress, Jake was trying to look in your direction earlier, he might be wanting to be with you now," she said.

I left her alone and went back to the party. Jake was sitting alone at the table watching something.  People were shouting all over the place, though in a few minutes everyone will be gone and leave only us here. I picked the cake from the table and headed in his direction. He was busy on his phone and didn't see me coming up to him that was much better.

"Is this seat taken?"

He left his phone on the table and stood looking at me. The sad face was replaced with a smile. He opened his arms and I went in. 

I had missed this today, being closed to him and doing nothing in particular.  

"I missed you, sorry was dealing with Claire's madness," I confessed. 

"I missed you too, thought that you didn't want me around, turns out you just wanted to see too, I love this."

I smiled at him. 

Instead of sitting next to him, he directed me to the sofa next to the window. Adjusting the seat so that it can face the window, we sat and ate the cake slowly looking at the stars.

"They are beautiful today you know," he said while munching on the piece of cake. 

"You look handsome too, every day, and I don't want that to stop," I said to him.

He placed his head on my lap and I was left smelling his hair and sniffing his perfume. 

We were just in this quiet position, this portion where we didn't want anyone to distract us. I love this peaceful moment and would love every day to be like this. He is peaceful like this, it's like nothing is bothering him and he has everything figured out. 

"Hey guys, it's the present time, you should all come here to present your present."

Claire was calling us. I bet it's the alcohol that she has taken.

"I hope she gets pregnant one day, maybe all this shouting will be over as done, I wonder what is Dominic waiting for," said Jake and I just looked at him.

I don't know if pregnancy or anything will make Claire quiet, she is always shouting every second she gets. I just tagged along with Jake and we went ahead to sit in the living room. The bottles had been placed back into the cabinet and the place was clean. Everyone is holding presents in their hands to give him.

Jake and I did a joint present and ours was the first one to be opened.

"Shopping voucher at Gucci? Bro, this is too much? Like I will spend a lot of money on that though it's five hundred thousand dollars I am gonna buy anything and I won't get enough!"

We preferred a shopping voucher so that he can get anything he wants for his birthday. We couldn't decide on anything and we didn't want to get him something that won't meet his taste.

Alex got him a small but important gift, a sex toy. Everyone burst out laughing, looks like people were kinky all over this place. I don't know if that is important the way Alex put it but they know it themselves. Next, it was Dominic who had paired a gift with Claire. 

A night in Hawaii, I know Pete loves the place and defiantly he was going there and even extend it if Jake was going to give him a day off.

The present time was over but not Claire who came in with another box for him. 

"I think it's a toy snake to scare him out!" Said Dominic while looking at Jake. They bother laughed but silently. 

"I would be careful opening that, second presents from your elder sister are never that good bro," said Jake and I pinched his hands to keep quiet.

Dominic moved backwards and Jake followed him, looks like it might be bad and I also moved back to avoid any drama that comes with that present.

Carefully removing the ribbons, we saw Pete's shocked eyes. It's like he was given gold for his birthday like baby Jesus.

"What now dude, just say what it is," said Dominic.

"I am going to be an uncle!" 

"What?" Chorused everyone.

He removed the pregnancy test from the kit and lifted it, I wish you could see the smile on his face, it is like he was going to be the father.

Dominic was still shocked and he moved forward to look at the kit. This was a way of Claire telling him that he was going to be a father.

"Baby, you are pregnant?" Asked Dominic while still looking at the kit.

For once I can say I saw Claire shying off and playing with her hands like a twelve-year-old girl being told that she was loved by her boyfriend.

She nodded and looked at Dominic.

"Hallelujah!" Shouted Dominic while clapping his hands. 

It was a happy moment for everyone, the way Dominic refined the news was incredible, he shed alone tears and went down on his knees. 

Claire walked up to him and the next thing they were hugging and kissing each other.

"Wow, that was amazing, the way he received the news," I said eyeing them. I didn't forget to take a picture of them. 

"One thing though," said Claire startling everyone. 

"Anything baby,". Said Dominic in an excited tone.

" I might have gotten the baby drunk!"

"That's Claire, looks like her drama with a none ending drama even with pregnancy😂🤪"