Eri put her toiletry bag in the suitcase and zipped it up after making sure she had everything she needed. She turned the light off in her room and rolled the suitcase behind her. Elias rose from where he sat on the couch and took it from her. She grabbed her laptop off the coffee table and packed it along with the charger and her tablet in her backpack. When she zipped it, he took it too.
“Did you get everything you need, Amate?”
“Yeah. If I forgot something, I’ll come back and grab it.”
They exited her apartment, Eri stopping to lock the door behind them. When they were in the car, pulling out of the parking lot, she turned to him.
“Can we stop and get frozen yogurt?”
“Yeah, we can. Is there a place you prefer?”
“No. We can go to whichever one is closest to your house.”
They pulled into the parking lot of the yogurt shop fifteen minutes later, and as they headed inside, Eri tiptoed around puddles. The rain had stopped a couple of hours earlier, but everything was still wet.
“Oh, baby, look. They have a peach mango soufflé flavor,” she stated, pointing at the board announcing the special flavors of the month.
Elias wrapped his arms around her. “Baby, huh?” he teasingly whispered in her ear.
“I can just call you Elias,” she rebutted, looking over her shoulder at him.
He kissed her. “Nah, I like baby better, and I can think of a few other things you can call me.” The smirk he gave her was telling, and Eri felt her cheeks warming.
“What flavor are you getting?” she asked, changing the subject.
“Since you aren’t on the menu, strawberry.”
They moved to the counter to place their order. When the total was given, Eri reached into her crossbody, grabbing Elias’ wrist when he passed his card over her shoulder.
“No, I’ll pay for it. I wanted to come.”
Elias signaled for the cashier to take his card as he pulled Eri back into his chest. “When have I ever let you pay for anything?” he asked.
“You haven’t but—”
“And what makes you think I’m going to start now?”
Eri huffed as she leaned back against him because she’d learned that it wasn’t a hill worth dying on, since he never seemed to change his mind. But she supposed she might as well enjoy it. She knew plenty of women who would be overjoyed never to have to pay for anything during a date.
The cashier returned his card, and they moved to the side to wait. As they did, Elias slipped his hand under her shirt, circling his thumb around her navel. Eri was sure it was an innocent act, probably even unconscious on his part, but the simple touch had her melting into him.
20
Eri heard the car door close and lit the two candles. There was rustling in the entryway, and a minute later, her dad came into view. She sang “Happy Birthday”, and her dad blew out the candle when she finished.
“Thanks, Bean,” he said, pulling her into a hug. He glanced at the simmering pots and pan on the stove. “Something smells good.”
“I made your favorite,” Eri told him. She’d made him the same birthday meal he’d always requested from her mother. Five years had passed with her keeping the tradition, but it didn’t get any less bittersweet for the two of them.
“I’ll go wash up and get out of this suit,” he replied, kissing her forehead before exiting the kitchen.
Eri removed the candles from the cake and covered it, leaving it in the middle of the table. She placed the gift bag, which had originally been on the floor, in the chair beside where her dad would sit. He would open it after they ate. The rest of her time alone in the kitchen was spent putting the finishing touches on the food and taking out dinnerware.
She was plating the food when her dad returned twenty-five minutes later, freshly showered and dressed in a T-shirt and lounge pants. Eri set the plates on the table and grabbed drinks from the fridge.
“How was work?” she asked as she took the seat across from him.
Her dad sighed. “I’m getting ready to issue written warnings to an entire department.”
