"Happy birthday dear Chri-is/Dad-dy, Happy birthday to you..."
He leant forward and blew out the candle on the cake with some assistance from three children. Chris looked again at the collection of cards, some of them handmade, at the CD from his children and at the book Daniel had bought him and grinned.
Cathy cut the cake into small wedges and handed it around the table, and he commented on the small piece she had given him. "Your supper is later," she said matter of factly. She had already said that she would cook him a steak.
Cake finished, Cathy asked who was going to help with the washing up. This had the effect of clearing the kitchen in a few minutes. Chris moved next to her,
"You did that on purpose," he said looking at the now empty room.
"Might have done," she replied, running a hand over his bulging jeans.
"Hmm," he looked thoughtful, "could it be that you have a special present for me? Or is it just that the dishwasher has broken down."
"Neither," she said, "I have something for you, oh yes, a special present." She winked and taped the side of her nose conspiratorially.
Once the kids were in bed she came into the room with two trays, both with plates piled high with his favourite things. He devoured the meal with gusto, even asking about pudding.
"You'll get that later," she said, and continued eating. Eventually, she finished too.
"I'm going up," she said half an hour later, and then walked across close to him, "Load the dishwasher and keep your phone on," she whispered in his ear, "You should get a call in a while."
He heard the sound of the shower and guessed she had gone into the bathroom to prepare for whatever was going to happen.
Quickly he turned off the lights, checked the doors and walked up the stairs. She was still in the bathroom, and using the wardrobe entrance, he slipped through to her room. The water was still running and he figured he'd still have at least five minutes snooping time.
On the bed were two Tesco carrier bags. They contained a variety of toppings, a bottle of wine and a large syrupy cake looking like a giant rumbaba, with a hole through the centre. There was also a tin of spray cream. He guessed kind of what was going to happen.
Having seen enough, he moved to her dressing table and moved the mirror slightly. He had positioned the dressing table so when he looked through a tiny gap in the wardrobe he could see most of the rest of the room reflected in it.