“You look so beautiful today, baby,” my mama declared, weeping.
“You okay, Mama? Why are you crying?”
“Nothing. My baby’s just so beautiful.”
Daddy pulled her away and told me to go greet the other people. I was a little worried about her, though, with her crying and all. I had no idea what prompted the tears, and I made a mental note to speak with Aria about it later.
After moving around and talking to people for over an hour, including the Williamses, my feet were hurting, and I was starving.
“I’m hungry, baby. What are you feeding me?” I asked Naijhel when I found him again.
“Come on. They’ve already served the meals. You just need to slow up and eat.”
“What is it? The hors d’oeuvres were great, but I need a meal.”
He laughed as he led me to the head table that had a seat with a banner reading, “The Queen.”
“We’re having braised duck or chicken, rice pilaf, roasted asparagus or steamed green beans, and dinner rolls. Your dessert choices are peach cobbler, apple pie, and caramel, pound, and birthday cakes.”
“Do I have to choose?”
He leaned down before he took his seat and kissed my lips. “You never have to choose. It’s your special day, beautiful.”
“All right, ladies and gentlemen. It’s time to give the birthday girl her birthday gifts. Grab your paddles from underneath your chairs, and let’s start the bidding,” Damaris announced into the microphone.
“Paddles? Bidding?” I muttered, looking at Naijhel and the others who grabbed their paddles. He was the only one who didn’t grab one.
“Damaris thought it would be a great idea to give you presents in an auction style presentation. Pretty much like the auction she held just over a year ago.”
“When we first got together,” I stated, smiling at him.
“Exactly.”
“I like that.” I leaned over and kissed his lips as Damaris explained the rules before she turned the event over to the auctioneer.
As I listened, I was surprised to learn that there were enough gifts for me to receive a new one every month.
Tanika won the first bid. Her gift to me would be a bookstore crawl where I had a budget of five hundred dollars to spend. Thethought of that excited me. Tanika loved books as much as I did, and I knew we would have a ball together.
Damaris won the next gift, and it was an antique shopping spree that awarded me two grand. Although she did not get to go nearly as much as she or I would like, Damaris loved shopping for antiques as much as I did.
“I promise that I’ll make time to go more often!” she shouted from the front table back to me. She was positioned near the auctioneer, and everyone laughed.
“I’ll hold you to that, friend, or else you’re fired!” I shouted back, causing everyone to laugh again.
My father outbid everyone on a farmers market shopping trip of five hundred dollars. It was a gift that reminded me of my childhood. He often took me to the farmer’s market to get fresh veggies, and we would come home to cook a delicious meal for everyone.
My mother won the bid on the botanical garden trip; Yogi won the bid to take me to an out-of-state museum; Aria won the bid for a trip to a spa resort for a weekend; Suzette, Naijhel’s sister-in-law, who I had grown extremely close with and had catered tonight’s event, won the bid for the wine tasting weekend trip; Naijhel’s mom won the bid for the cooking class; and Erin won the bid for us to go indoor rock climbing together.
“This next item for bid includes a sunset helicopter tour, a hotel on the river, and a private yacht cruise for the next day. We’ll start the bidding at three grand,” the auctioneer announced.
I gasped because that sounded romantic. I only wanted to do something like that with my man, but everyone got in on the bid. Naijhel was cool as a cucumber as he silently lifted his cane each time someone drove the price higher. I didn’t think that he was participating since he hadn’t grabbed a paddle, but he used that cane just as expertly.
The auctioneer, who wasn’t the same man from last year, was rattling off the prices so quickly that I couldn’t understand a word that he was saying until he announced, “Going once, going twice, sold to the man with the cream and gold cane.”
Naijhel gave a cool nod and lifted his Macallan to his lips and took a sip.
“Baby, thank you!” I exclaimed, throwing my arms around his neck and kissing him deeply. I heard my dad at the table across from us clearing his throat.
