"Oh my god," Holly gasped as her boyfriend uncovered her eyes. Their apartment's living room was lit by an assortment of scentless candles on the coffee table. The warm glow was beautiful after weeks of only the harsh whites of their ceiling lights and monitors, but even more fantastic was the trays of food laid out before her. A paired set of soba noodles and broth sat next to each other while the middle of the table had a bubbling hot plate with veggies and thinly sliced meat cooking away, filling the room with an aroma of sweet and savory cooking. However, the pièce de résistance was the massive amount of sushi that had conquered an entire half of the table, only leaving enough space in the center for artfully crafted nigiri, placed to form the number 40.
"I know your favorite restaurant is still closed, but I still remember how to make everything myself," Taka said, holding her waist from behind as he let her take in the view. Her hands covered her mouth as she took it all in, her head swimming the wonderful flavors of the cooking sukiyaki and hint of sweetened, seasoned rice. He laughed at her silence, cracking her out of her awe-struck stupor and she spun around and slapped his shoulder.
"Taka you asshole," she yelled. "You had me locked in the bedroom all day for this?" She could feel her eyes brimming with tears as her mouth filled with saliva. He just laughed harder.
"Hey- hey! Don't you love it?" He moved his hands up her arms to rest on her shoulder. He swayed his hips in time to the soft music playing from their tv's soundbar and twisted her back around to keep looking at the dinner he prepared for her. Once he was behind her again, he slowly wrapped his arms around her, forcing her to move in time with him. He squeezed her and bent down to rest his head on her shoulder. His hands moved over her in a soft caress, squeezing her plush curves that were made more pronounced by the sedentary life of quarantine. He craned his head into the crook of her neck, tickling her with his mustache and lips as he kissed her flesh.
"God," she gasped again. "I do love it, I really do! I just didn't expect this." the emotions battering her mind broke the damn holding back the tears, salted streams running down her cheeks while she began to take sharp breaths that choked into hiccups. Taka cooed and shushed her.
"It's okay, baby," he spoke softly, his breath flirting with stray strands of her brown hair. He moved slowly, motioning her to do the same as their feet clumsily attempted to sync up as they inched closer and closer to the couch. They parted just enough to properly sit side by side, their thighs pressing together as the cushions between them depressed to bring them closer. Holly struggled to keep her composure but Taka took the lead once more as he brought a clean plate and chopsticks up from the lower shelf of the table, using the utensils to pick up some of the marinated and cooked strips of beef and onions from the sukiyaki pan. He filled half of the plate with the assortment of meat and veg before he switched to the sushi, having to lean over her to pick up the nigiri that made up the big 4, and a few rolls to fill up the remaining space.
"Happy fortieth, Holly," he said, handing her the plate and chopsticks so she could begin. Once satisfied with her first dish, he set on making his own plate, making sure to pick the pieces he knew she enjoyed the least so as not to take much from her feast.
"I don't like the sound of that at all," she moaned, slumping into the back of the couch as if to pout. She lifted up a slice of beef and watched the oil and marinade drip off of it before she brought it to her mouth and began to chew. "I love you, this is amazing and I have no idea how you were able to do this all in one day, but I don't like to hear how old I am."
He laughed. "You're not that old! It's okay though, no more numbers, only food," he said as he poked her breast with his chopsticks. She gasped and covered the assaulted spot and shot her elbow into his side. Taka giggled as he took the hit, popping a spicy tuna roll into his mouth. "When I turn forty you can do something like this for me."
"Oh god, I'm gonna be a grandma by then," she cried. "I'll be in like my 60's! And if quarantine isn't over by then no way in hell am I gonna risk getting groceries for you."
"By the time I turn forty you'll be fifty-four," he scoffed. Holly grimaced as she looked down to shovel the contents of her plate to her mouth.
"At least your birthday is in a nice month. The weather is always better in August," she sighed. "Of course I'm gonna celebrate the first birthday since you've come back in the middle of a viral pandemic." She placed her plate down on the table as she struggled with a frown tugging at her face. She turned to the younger man and the words caught in her throat as she took in the sadness he displayed.
"Oh no, babe, I didn't mean it like that," she began.
"It's okay, I'm sorry, I should have tried harder to come home," he replied but Holly silenced him with a raised hand.
"You don't have to be sorry, I know it's tough when you have a great opportunity like that." She placed her hand on his thigh and squeezed. "I'm just happy to have you here now, I don't know how I'd survive being stuck home without you," she laughed in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Hell, part of me was just jealous. I wish I could have spent 2 years living in Japan!"
"It wasn't that great," he smiled back to her. "With how much work they gave me, it made me miss coming through the front door to see you."
"Oh you," she squealed, eyes once again filling with tears. She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a squeeze, digging her face into his chest. "I'm sure you met plenty of fine young ladies at those company bar meetings!"
"I think you watched too much anime on Netflix. Teachers don't go to bars like an office would!" He wrapped his arm around her, making sure to keep his plate leveled and out of the way. "Now get back to eating, okay? Don't let it go cold! And if you need radish for your soba, there is some in the dish here!"
The older woman lifts herself up and away and sniffs. She pulls a partially used tissue from her sweat pants pocket and blows her nose. Holly smiles at him and laughs as he pulls out another for her to use.
"Always prepared, huh," she asks.
"Mhmm," he hums. "Itadakimasu."
The couple digs into the feast Taka prepared, filling and emptying dish after dish. In between swallows and full mouths, the two chat about the lazy nothings. Holly spoke about how she had spent the day locked in the bedroom talking to her sister on the phone. About the cats she found on the local rescue's Facebook page that were just too cute. In return, Taka spoke about how he put dinner together, how hard he tried to keep everything hidden as he came back from the grocery store or whenever a package was delivered.
Holly pulled her long brown hair back into a bun. "Dinner was immaculate," she praised her boyfriend, squeezing his thigh as she leaned over to kiss his cheek. While close, she flicked away a stray piece of rice that clung to his black mustache, giggling as she did it. "Thank you so much, babe." Taka smiled.
"It's not over yet," he grinned as he got up from the couch, fast enough to startle the older woman. "One final gift is left for you dear, close your eyes!"
"Taka you didn't," she began but he cut her off.
"Close em!"
She sighed as she watched him walk out of view towards the apartment's entrance around the corner. She heard him shuffle around out of sight and the sound of something large being moved. Not wanting to push any further or disappoint him, she complied and shut her eyes. She let herself relax into the plush couch, her body sinking back as her body worked on digesting. It was quite a lot of food and despite her flirting with the idea of a diet to combat the fat she was building, she wasn't going to start anything of the sort on her birthday, especially when her man made her such a wonderful meal. She couldn't help the smile curling her lips up as she thought of him.
He had come back home from working in Japan right before Covid-19 hit stateside. One of those blessings, she guessed. In some ways, it didn't feel too bad to be so far away from him, as her own job had been keeping her just as busy, but two years regardless is a long time. It was a great opportunity for him and things had gone well enough that they offered him another year, much longer than what was common practice. She loved him and wanted him to succeed, he gave up his old job working at her favorite restaurant for her, the same one that they had met each other in. It felt like a lifetime ago, it brought her just a bit of shame to think that when she first met him he must have still been in high school.
Things were so different then. She had still been an artist at the time. Still working part-time so she could focus on commission and freelance work. Still living with her parents. She can feel her face begin to burn with embarrassment. It was so embarrassing to be thirty, single, and living with your parents and falling for someone so much younger than herself. Ten years they had known each other, she thought to herself. And they have been together for the last 7. It made her smile. She remembered when they first moved in together in their first apartment. It lasted for 3 years, and she had started a new job and gave up art to help afford it with him and put him through college. He didn't plan on it originally, but she pushed him to do it, helping him as much as she could.
"Okay, you can open them!" She was taken out of her memories when she heard Taka speak from across the table. Her eyes flutter open, catching the sight of a white blanket draped over something tall, and a large box next to it. "Happy birthday, Holly!"