Author's Note: There's a character's surname, which is Takagi, but I think I might have misspelled it somewhere. Sorry about that. I tried to catch all the misspellings, but I might have missed some. I'm stupid sometimes.
***
Mason and Kennedy's birthdays were two days apart. So, they liked to celebrate both their birthdays on the same day. They scheduled an informal dinner party. Ana looked forward to going. She had two presents wrapped up for the occasion, a bottle of wine and a pearl bracelet with a single cabochon birthstone.
It was a lovely autumn afternoon, sharp and cool. Ana drove up to her parents' two story house located just outside a suburb, far enough for privacy and close enough for socialization, if desired. Ana saw a very expensive looking wagon of a car, and there was also a red sports car.
The Williamsons and the Dalcas. Of course.
What an interesting circle of friends.
Worrying that she might be late, Ana parked her car and collected her presents. When she was at the front door, she heard laughter. She pressed her fingertip against a doorbell, which alerted everyone in inside with a cheerful noise.
Kennedy answered the door and gave Ana a hug that felt and smelled like a beloved old pillow. "Thanks for coming. Oh, you brought presents? You didn't have to!"
Well, she certainly did, otherwise she'd never forgive herself.
Ana wasn't late after all. Dinner was served as soon as her parents opened the presents. In the cozy dining room, Ana ended up sitting across from a certain someone, someone she remained civil yet cold to.
The man with green eyes, green with gray.
The man with a nose like a claw.
Did Mihai notice that he was often looking at her?
Hell, did Ana's dad notice?
As for Mr. Williamson, at least Ana was pretty sure that he'd given up on trying to get her attention. He hadn't invited her to any events, hadn't even texted her. Maybe he found someone else to flirt with. Maybe he reconciled with his wife. The couple seemed functional enough, but they could've been faking it for all Ana knew.
Goodness, Mrs. Williamson certainly had a pretty bracelet! It was a gold bangle with pink and white stones. Ana had to compliment the woman. The need was practically in her blood.
"Oh, this thing?" Jennifer Williamson said as she held her wrist up. "I don't know. I was thinking of pawning it off."
Mr. Williamson made a noticeably hurt expression, and a choking little snort came from him, but he held down whatever emotion he'd wanted to show and took a huge bite of food. Ana wondered if she was the only one who noticed that.
When it was time to go, Ana thought that she had to refrain from looking back at Vlad Dalca. It put a curiously mucus-like sensation in her throat and stomach, but it was for the best.
Still, Ana knew that man was still looking at her like ... like she was pretty damn important.
Some days later, Ana received a phone call from, of all people, Mihai Dalca. She later learned he'd asked Kennedy for Ana's number. With a happy, yet imploring voice, he invited Ana to his birthday party, and then to his father's birthday, which was a couple of days from his birthday.
Ana was tempted to hop and skip at the opportunity. It would be an excellent chance to explore the famous mansion those Dalcas lived in. Besides, Mihai was a nice fellow ... and Vlad was intriguing.
And again, besides, Mihai did recently buy her a crap-ton of delicious, oh so delicious garbage food.
Uncertain, Ana made a sound like, "Ahhhhhmmmm ...?"
To her surprise, Mihai said with a calm, understanding voice, "You don't have to come. My dad's interested in you, and while I don't know how you feel about that, I do know you might be uncomfortable."
Ana nearly dropped her phone. Then she stubbed her toe on a coffee table. "Ow!"
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine." She folded her legs onto her living room floor, painfully kneeling. "Are you ... are you angry at me? I'm younger than you. I don't want you think I'm the kind of person that exploits older men with money."
"What could you possibly do? Could you seduce him into granting me an inheritance?"
"Huh? He's not planning on leaving anything to you?"
"Why would he? He's already given me enough money to keep me in comfort forever. Anyway, if he doesn't get married, he might just leave everything to some random charity, but not out of kindness. He'd do it just to feel better about himself."
"Uhm ... well ... okay, but please don't gossip about me and your dad."
"Why would I? I'm not the type. Are you worried about what your parents would think?"
Ana sighed so heavily that her whole torso felt scratched and raw on the inside. "I think so, but I'm worried about a few other things too."
"I'll assume that's none of my business. Well, I'm disappointed that you won't come to our parties, but it's okay. I'm not mad at you. I hope to see you again, though. Goodbye."
"Okay, thanks," Ana said. "Goodbye."
***
There were crumbling, fragile little leaves at the mercy of human feet that ground into the grass and pavement. They were simple things, pretty things, and they had Ana thinking of pumpkin pie and lazy naps.
The park was so lovely.
A jog with a sweater, it was a good thing. It helped to keep her heart active and her brain comforted. No need for old fashioned workout videos or new fashioned waist trainers, which was just another way of saying corsets in Ana's opinion. She thought that any modern woman who willingly wore a corset in the hopes of losing weight was likely a dumbass. Those things didn't magically take weight away. They just squished your body into something unnatural.
"But," Ana thought as she paused near a tree and caught her breath, "there are lots of unnatural things that are really good. Modern medicine. Flushing toilets. Sex toys. And cooking. Cooking's probably the best thing in the world."
Continuing with her jog, Ana let her mind relax and her muscles work. Her world was cool yet it also burned. Her ears were stinging. Her hair was flinging around in its ponytail.
"Ana!"
She halted and turned around. It was Mihai, wearing his own sweater and sweatpants, his hair up in a bun. He waved at her and approached with a grin. Then he kissed her cheeks. "I'm glad to see you. I was planning on calling you today."
"How was your birthday?" Ana asked as she reached back and tried to smooth out her hair.
"It was pretty nice, I ate a cake shaped like an electric guitar. Dad's birthday was nice too. I got him a round cake with a landscape painted on the perimeter."
"Were there any party games?"
"I pinned a donkey's tail to my dad's ass." Mihai's cheeks rose and his gray eyes shone. "Then he punched my arm. That was on my birthday."
Ana folded her arms. "What did you do on his birthday?"
"I played a drinking game with him. He won."
"Oh, that sounds like fun." Ana didn't think it was something she'd ever do, though.
"Very fun." His smile shrunk a bit. "So, what are your plans for Halloween?"
That was an easy question to answer. "I'm going to put on a costume and give candy out to the neighbor kids."
One of his hands rose and flourished to one side. "Would you mind if I visited? I don't think any children will come to my house, but I'd love to give them candy."
