Illiam sighed and straightened Xander's turtleneck as they waited for the guests to arrive. This was a very special occasion- their daughter Seva's eighth birthday. Not only children, but their parents and Sevvie's relatives would be arriving to spend this special day with Sevvie.
"Alright, now let's go over the communication checklist."
"We do not need to go over the communication checklist." replied Xander, but Illiam had already pulled it out and begun reading it.
"No telling anyone that having a PhD doesn’t make them a real doctor." read Illiam.
"I shall remember that after last yule, when Cassandra punched me in the face."
"No asking anyone how their heart feels, and no diagnosing anyone, especially Dr. Azevedo."
"I understand."
"If the Robertsons, for any reason show up, we are to turn them away."
"Even if they have a child?" asked Xander.
"Even if they have a great big present for Sevvie with a bow and wrapping paper."
"What if Seva spots the present?" asked Xander nervously.
Illiam sighed. "Then you kick them in the face, take the present, and give it to Sevvie."
Xander turned around and gave a few experimental kicks, almost knocking over a vase. Illiam put his face in his hands. "Xander, do not literally kick them in the face. They will sue the pants off of us, also you could kill them." Both Xander and Sevvie had been banned from both martial arts dojos in town, and three other local ones, for "excessive force". Neither the man nor his daughter seemed, at times, to understand the meaning of the word restraint.
Xander sighed. "Well, alright then. Now, Illiam, tell me the fourth and final thing!"
Illiam looked at his list. "Xander, there are at least twelve more items remaining."
"Then you shall summarize them." said Xander.
Illiam sighed. "Just remember, Xander.... this is Sevvie's special day."
"I know."
The doorbell rang, and Illiam went to get it. It was Elian, with Sevvie's elaborate three tier birthday cake. "Hi, where's the birthday girl?"
"She's still upstairs, preparing." said Illiam, holding the door open so Elian and the monstrous cake could get through. Desta followed her father into the house, and Ulmer after her. "Hello, Desta! Ulmer."
"This is a nice house." commented Ulmer. "Is that a horse barn out back?"
Illiam nodded. "Yes, previously we've been primarily using it for the goats and sheep, but we've been considering buying a horse.”
The older man blinked. “Really,a horse? Dang.”
Illiam shrugged. “It would be a nice skill for the kids to have, horse riding. Something peaceful, at least.”
“DADS!” screamed Sevvie from the top of the stairs. “ARE THE GUESTS HERE YET?”
“Your cousin Desta is here!” said Illiam. To Elian, he ordered, “Go hide the cake, or put it in the fridge or something.” Then, back to Sevvie, “Go down and meet your cousin Desta, okay?”
“NO! I have to have my entrance!”
“Sevvie, she’s your cousin!”
“I can maybe come upstairs and see you, Sevvie?” asked Desta.
“No! Go play with Jiro! I have to have my entrance!”
Jiro was, admittedly, hiding in the study, reading “Which Witch?”, a book he had taken from Sevvie’s bookshelf. But Desta managed to find him. “Hi Jiro. Is your sister always like this?”
Jiro sighed. “You don’t know the half of it. “
"Alright, now let's go over the communication checklist."
"We do not need to go over the communication checklist." replied Xander, but Illiam had already pulled it out and begun reading it.
"No telling anyone that having a PhD doesn’t make them a real doctor." read Illiam.
"I shall remember that after last yule, when Cassandra punched me in the face."
"No asking anyone how their heart feels, and no diagnosing anyone, especially Dr. Azevedo."
"I understand."
"If the Robertsons, for any reason show up, we are to turn them away."
"Even if they have a child?" asked Xander.
"Even if they have a great big present for Sevvie with a bow and wrapping paper."
"What if Seva spots the present?" asked Xander nervously.
Illiam sighed. "Then you kick them in the face, take the present, and give it to Sevvie."
Xander turned around and gave a few experimental kicks, almost knocking over a vase. Illiam put his face in his hands. "Xander, do not literally kick them in the face. They will sue the pants off of us, also you could kill them." Both Xander and Sevvie had been banned from both martial arts dojos in town, and three other local ones, for "excessive force". Neither the man nor his daughter seemed, at times, to understand the meaning of the word restraint.
Xander sighed. "Well, alright then. Now, Illiam, tell me the fourth and final thing!"
Illiam looked at his list. "Xander, there are at least twelve more items remaining."
"Then you shall summarize them." said Xander.
Illiam sighed. "Just remember, Xander.... this is Sevvie's special day."
"I know."
The doorbell rang, and Illiam went to get it. It was Elian, with Sevvie's elaborate three tier birthday cake. "Hi, where's the birthday girl?"
"She's still upstairs, preparing." said Illiam, holding the door open so Elian and the monstrous cake could get through. Desta followed her father into the house, and Ulmer after her. "Hello, Desta! Ulmer."
"This is a nice house." commented Ulmer. "Is that a horse barn out back?"
Illiam nodded. "Yes, previously we've been primarily using it for the goats and sheep, but we've been considering buying a horse.”
The older man blinked. “Really,a horse? Dang.”
Illiam shrugged. “It would be a nice skill for the kids to have, horse riding. Something peaceful, at least.”
“DADS!” screamed Sevvie from the top of the stairs. “ARE THE GUESTS HERE YET?”
“Your cousin Desta is here!” said Illiam. To Elian, he ordered, “Go hide the cake, or put it in the fridge or something.” Then, back to Sevvie, “Go down and meet your cousin Desta, okay?”
“NO! I have to have my entrance!”
“Sevvie, she’s your cousin!”
“I can maybe come upstairs and see you, Sevvie?” asked Desta.
“No! Go play with Jiro! I have to have my entrance!”
Jiro was, admittedly, hiding in the study, reading “Which Witch?”, a book he had taken from Sevvie’s bookshelf. But Desta managed to find him. “Hi Jiro. Is your sister always like this?”
Jiro sighed. “You don’t know the half of it. “
More guests had arrived, questioning where Sevvie was. Illiam had finally finished putting up the decorations. This birthday was “Frozen” themed. Each room had a different style- the entrance room was sunny and bright, like the kingdom of Arendale, the kitchen and dining room were decorated in blue, purple, and pink, and the stairway and living rooms were done in blue and white, with fake snow on the floor and snowflakes hanging from the ceiling. Jiro and Illiam had spent hours making those snowflakes out of sparkly paper. There were also cardboard cutouts of the characters put around the house, except for Sevvie’s favorite- Elsa.
“Sevvie, darling, I think you should come down now. Almost all your guests are here.”
“But what about the ones who aren’t! Don’t you think they’ll want to see my grand enterance!?”
“They’ll live.” said Illiam.
“No! We’ll wait.”
Elian, at the door, wearing a winter themed outfit (well, at least it matched the season), opened the door as another family, a man and a woman in fancy outfits with a child dressed in an Elsa costume approached. “Hello, welcome to Sevvie’s birthday party! Come on in!”
“Oh, Illiam, you’re so welcoming today. Where is that…. partner of yours?” asked the man, entering the with his family.
“Oh, I’m not Illiam. I’m his identical twin brother, Sevvie’s uncle, Elian. You must be….” Elian looked on his checklist. At the very bottom, in big red letters, it said “Do Not Let The Robertsons In!” “Um, are you Dr and Mr. Woden and Mimzy?”
“No, we are Mr and Mrs. Robertson, and this is our daughter, Pembula. Say hello, Pembula.”
“Hello, Pembula.” said Pembula. Her parents sighed, pushing her in the house. Elian’s expression turned to one of panick. But he couldn’t run to warn Illiam. What if the real Dr and Mr Woden were to come?
“Well, um, welcome to my brother’s home!” said Elian. “Sevvie will be coming down in just a minute.”
“Sevvie, darling, I think you should come down now. Almost all your guests are here.”
“But what about the ones who aren’t! Don’t you think they’ll want to see my grand enterance!?”
“They’ll live.” said Illiam.
“No! We’ll wait.”
Elian, at the door, wearing a winter themed outfit (well, at least it matched the season), opened the door as another family, a man and a woman in fancy outfits with a child dressed in an Elsa costume approached. “Hello, welcome to Sevvie’s birthday party! Come on in!”
“Oh, Illiam, you’re so welcoming today. Where is that…. partner of yours?” asked the man, entering the with his family.
“Oh, I’m not Illiam. I’m his identical twin brother, Sevvie’s uncle, Elian. You must be….” Elian looked on his checklist. At the very bottom, in big red letters, it said “Do Not Let The Robertsons In!” “Um, are you Dr and Mr. Woden and Mimzy?”
“No, we are Mr and Mrs. Robertson, and this is our daughter, Pembula. Say hello, Pembula.”
“Hello, Pembula.” said Pembula. Her parents sighed, pushing her in the house. Elian’s expression turned to one of panick. But he couldn’t run to warn Illiam. What if the real Dr and Mr Woden were to come?
“Well, um, welcome to my brother’s home!” said Elian. “Sevvie will be coming down in just a minute.”
Ulmer, with his walkie talkie, noticed the family walk in. That was the right number of families, he thought. “Seva. It’s time for your big enterance.”
“Okay! Thanks, Uncle Ulmer!” The lights suddenly went dark, and then suddenly, a single spotlight came on.
“THE SNOW GLOWS WHITE ON THE MOUNTAIN TONIGHT, NOT A FOOTPRINT TO BE SEEN!” Sevvie appeared dramatically at the top of the stairs, dressed in Elsa’s first outfit and singing along to the song. “A KINGDOM OF ISOLATION, and it looks like, I’M THE QUEEN!’ She flipped a switch, and the snowblower upstairs turned on, throwing fake snowflakes down the stairs and into the faces of the guests. “The wind is howling like the raging storm inside! Couldn’t hold it in, heaven knows I TRIED! Don’t let them in, don’t let them see, be the good girl, you always have to be, conceal don’t feel, don’t let them know! Well know they know!”
As the next note of the song came, Sevvie stomped down a step. “LET IT GO! LET IT GO! Can’t hold it back anymore! LET IT GO! LET IT GO! Turn away and slam the door! I DON’T CARE! WHAT THEY’RE GOING TO SAY! LET THE STORM RAGE ON!” Yet another flurry of snowflakes came down the stairs. “THE COLD NEVER BOTHERED ME ANYWAYS!”
Sevvie pressed the forward button and skipped through the next few verses of the song. “IT’S TIME TO SEE WHAT I CAN DO, TO TEST MY LIMITS AND BREAK THROUGH! No right no wrong, no rules for meeeee, I’m freeeeeeeeee!”
Sevvie jumped down another step. Illiam thought about the structural integrity of the staircase, just as he had during Sevvie’s 20+ rehearsals. “Let it go, let it go, I am one with the wind and sky, let it go, you’ll never see me cry! Here I stand, and here I’ll stay, let the storm rage on!!!!!” Sevvie threw more snowflakes and glitter into the snow blower, sending glitter flying down at the audience. Glitter had definitely not been in the rehearsals! Xander got a face full of glitter and began to sneeze.
“My power flurries through the air into the ground, my soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around, and one thought crystallizes like an icy BLAST!! I'm never going back, the past is in the past!”
Sevvie threw off her Elsa crown and Xander caught it. “Let it go, let it go,” The next part was extremely intense. Sevvie quickly slipped the second part of her custom made Elsa costume (the third Elsa costume that Sevvie had owned) over her body, making it look like Elsa’s more famous dress. “and I’ll rise like the break of dawn! Let it go, let it go!” Sevvie dramatically swished her Elsa cape as she came down the stairs. “That perfect girl is gone! Here I stand, in the light of day! Let the storm rage on, the cold never bothered me anyway!”
Everyone clapped, some because they were impressed with the technical details of Sevvie’s performance, and some because they didn’t have to hear Sevvie sing anymore. Sevvie also clapped. “Hi Everyone! I’m glad you liked it! I’m Sevvie, and thank you for coming to my birthday party! We have all sorts of snacks and stuff, and we’re going to play games! Adults, I don’t know what you are going to do! Probably talk to my boring dads. Say hi, Dads!”
“Hi, dads.” said Xander.
“Hello, everyone!” said Illiam, “Alright, I’m going to record you now, everyone say hello to the camcorder.”
“Okay! Thanks, Uncle Ulmer!” The lights suddenly went dark, and then suddenly, a single spotlight came on.
“THE SNOW GLOWS WHITE ON THE MOUNTAIN TONIGHT, NOT A FOOTPRINT TO BE SEEN!” Sevvie appeared dramatically at the top of the stairs, dressed in Elsa’s first outfit and singing along to the song. “A KINGDOM OF ISOLATION, and it looks like, I’M THE QUEEN!’ She flipped a switch, and the snowblower upstairs turned on, throwing fake snowflakes down the stairs and into the faces of the guests. “The wind is howling like the raging storm inside! Couldn’t hold it in, heaven knows I TRIED! Don’t let them in, don’t let them see, be the good girl, you always have to be, conceal don’t feel, don’t let them know! Well know they know!”
As the next note of the song came, Sevvie stomped down a step. “LET IT GO! LET IT GO! Can’t hold it back anymore! LET IT GO! LET IT GO! Turn away and slam the door! I DON’T CARE! WHAT THEY’RE GOING TO SAY! LET THE STORM RAGE ON!” Yet another flurry of snowflakes came down the stairs. “THE COLD NEVER BOTHERED ME ANYWAYS!”
Sevvie pressed the forward button and skipped through the next few verses of the song. “IT’S TIME TO SEE WHAT I CAN DO, TO TEST MY LIMITS AND BREAK THROUGH! No right no wrong, no rules for meeeee, I’m freeeeeeeeee!”
Sevvie jumped down another step. Illiam thought about the structural integrity of the staircase, just as he had during Sevvie’s 20+ rehearsals. “Let it go, let it go, I am one with the wind and sky, let it go, you’ll never see me cry! Here I stand, and here I’ll stay, let the storm rage on!!!!!” Sevvie threw more snowflakes and glitter into the snow blower, sending glitter flying down at the audience. Glitter had definitely not been in the rehearsals! Xander got a face full of glitter and began to sneeze.
“My power flurries through the air into the ground, my soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around, and one thought crystallizes like an icy BLAST!! I'm never going back, the past is in the past!”
Sevvie threw off her Elsa crown and Xander caught it. “Let it go, let it go,” The next part was extremely intense. Sevvie quickly slipped the second part of her custom made Elsa costume (the third Elsa costume that Sevvie had owned) over her body, making it look like Elsa’s more famous dress. “and I’ll rise like the break of dawn! Let it go, let it go!” Sevvie dramatically swished her Elsa cape as she came down the stairs. “That perfect girl is gone! Here I stand, in the light of day! Let the storm rage on, the cold never bothered me anyway!”
Everyone clapped, some because they were impressed with the technical details of Sevvie’s performance, and some because they didn’t have to hear Sevvie sing anymore. Sevvie also clapped. “Hi Everyone! I’m glad you liked it! I’m Sevvie, and thank you for coming to my birthday party! We have all sorts of snacks and stuff, and we’re going to play games! Adults, I don’t know what you are going to do! Probably talk to my boring dads. Say hi, Dads!”
“Hi, dads.” said Xander.
“Hello, everyone!” said Illiam, “Alright, I’m going to record you now, everyone say hello to the camcorder.”
Lydia, still blindfolded, kept thwacking at the Olaf pinata on the floor with her stick. “Take that! And that!”
“Wow, Lydia, you already beat open the pinata!” said Sevvie. “Let us get the treats and stuff.”
Illiam handed out bags for the children. “Here are bags for you kids, for you to collect the candy in.” Illiam blinked at one of the children. Who were they? In fact, there was one too many. “Okay kids, lets write your names on the bags. Here’s a sharpie.”
The random child’s name was Pembula, apparently. Illiam instantly felt sorry for Pembula. Who gives a kid such a name? Sevvie put some candy in the bag. “Okay, guys, my parents set up tables for coloring and you guys can go outside on my swings and stuff, but I gotta go talk to my relatives! Be back soon!” Sevvie ran over to her grandfather Sebastian, who was watching the children. “Hi Poppop! Are you having fun!”
“Of course I am, Sevvie! You look so magical today, I love your Elsa dress!”
“Thanks! My dads had it made just for my party. They really liked it too, when Jiro’s birthday comes they think they might have Harry Potter costumes made. Poppop, who do you think you would be in the world of Harry Potter?”
“A wizard.” said Sebastian, and Sevvie sighed.
“Like what sort of wizard? Gryffindor? Slytherin? Huffl- AAH!” Sevvie screamed and then giggled as her other grandfather, Georg, picked her up. “Grandpa 3000!”
“Who’s the birthday girl!?”
“It’s me!”
“I can’t hear you!”
“It’s me! It’s my birthday, Grandpa 3000! Well, technically, not until next Tuesday, but it’s me!”
“Really, is it?”
“Yes, it is!”
Georg put Sevvie down, and she hugged him. “I’m so happy you could both come. I know California is a really long way away.”
“We wouldn’t miss it for the world, darling.” said Sebastian.
“Wow, Lydia, you already beat open the pinata!” said Sevvie. “Let us get the treats and stuff.”
Illiam handed out bags for the children. “Here are bags for you kids, for you to collect the candy in.” Illiam blinked at one of the children. Who were they? In fact, there was one too many. “Okay kids, lets write your names on the bags. Here’s a sharpie.”
The random child’s name was Pembula, apparently. Illiam instantly felt sorry for Pembula. Who gives a kid such a name? Sevvie put some candy in the bag. “Okay, guys, my parents set up tables for coloring and you guys can go outside on my swings and stuff, but I gotta go talk to my relatives! Be back soon!” Sevvie ran over to her grandfather Sebastian, who was watching the children. “Hi Poppop! Are you having fun!”
“Of course I am, Sevvie! You look so magical today, I love your Elsa dress!”
“Thanks! My dads had it made just for my party. They really liked it too, when Jiro’s birthday comes they think they might have Harry Potter costumes made. Poppop, who do you think you would be in the world of Harry Potter?”
“A wizard.” said Sebastian, and Sevvie sighed.
“Like what sort of wizard? Gryffindor? Slytherin? Huffl- AAH!” Sevvie screamed and then giggled as her other grandfather, Georg, picked her up. “Grandpa 3000!”
“Who’s the birthday girl!?”
“It’s me!”
“I can’t hear you!”
“It’s me! It’s my birthday, Grandpa 3000! Well, technically, not until next Tuesday, but it’s me!”
“Really, is it?”
“Yes, it is!”
Georg put Sevvie down, and she hugged him. “I’m so happy you could both come. I know California is a really long way away.”
“We wouldn’t miss it for the world, darling.” said Sebastian.
For lunch, there was pizza puffs,sticks with fruits and veggies speared on them, and for the gluten free children, tiny meat, cheese, and fruit kabobs. Illiam poured out cups of pop and blue frozen drinks for the kids, a sugary blue concoction poured over crushed ice in see through sparkly cups. For the adults, he made cocktails, such as “The Elsa”, “A Bit of a Fixer Upper” and “Let it Go”.
“You know, this is the first kids party I’ve ever been to where you could get a decent drink.” commented Dr. Elato Azevedo-Veani, dad of Sevvie’s friend Cadis (from school) and ½ of the couple Sevvie had once proclaimed “Happiest In The World.” He sipped the cocktail. “This is actually really good. What’s in it?”
“Vodka, blue curacao, lemonade, blueberries, and edible glitter.” said Illiam.
“The glitter really makes it.” commented Elato, shaking the glass to see the glitter fall. “I didn’t know they had edible glitter. Hey, is this going to make my esophagus sparkly?”
“Is someone going to be looking in there?”
Elato shrugged. “I guess you’re right. Mateus, come here and have a cocktail.”
Mateus shook his head. “You know how I get when I drink, Elato.”
“You get funky!” said Elato, throwing up his arms. “Look at that one, it’s pink~ Your favorite drink color!”
“Okay, I will have one of the pink ones.”
“It’s called ‘An Act of True Love’.”
“Are all of the cocktails frozen themed?” asked Mateus.
“They are now.”
“You know, this is the first kids party I’ve ever been to where you could get a decent drink.” commented Dr. Elato Azevedo-Veani, dad of Sevvie’s friend Cadis (from school) and ½ of the couple Sevvie had once proclaimed “Happiest In The World.” He sipped the cocktail. “This is actually really good. What’s in it?”
“Vodka, blue curacao, lemonade, blueberries, and edible glitter.” said Illiam.
“The glitter really makes it.” commented Elato, shaking the glass to see the glitter fall. “I didn’t know they had edible glitter. Hey, is this going to make my esophagus sparkly?”
“Is someone going to be looking in there?”
Elato shrugged. “I guess you’re right. Mateus, come here and have a cocktail.”
Mateus shook his head. “You know how I get when I drink, Elato.”
“You get funky!” said Elato, throwing up his arms. “Look at that one, it’s pink~ Your favorite drink color!”
“Okay, I will have one of the pink ones.”
“It’s called ‘An Act of True Love’.”
“Are all of the cocktails frozen themed?” asked Mateus.
“They are now.”
Elian, in the kitchen, fussed over the cake he’d spent hours baking, frosting, and decorating for his niece. The three tier cake had an elaborate ice palace atop it, a replica of the one in the film, a tiny figure of Sevvie wearing Elsa’s costume, and eight candles, for Sevvie’s eighth birthday. The rest of the cake was decorated in icy blue and white snowflake designs, and it was chocolate with chocolate filling, with buttercream frosting.
Listening outside, Elian finally heard his cue. “Alright, everyone, it’s time to sing, please step away from the door!’ said Illiam. In unison, everyone began to sing.
“Happy Birthday to you…. Happy Birthday to you!” Illiam held the door open for Elian and the cake to get through. “Happy Birthday dear Sevvie…. happy birthday to you!”
“WOW!” exclaimed Sevvie as the cake, candles already lit, was set in front of her. “It’s beautiful! Look! I’m even on the cake! Dad! Take a picture of the cake!”
“I’m still recording, dear. Now, make a wish, and blow out the candles.”
Sevvie, presumably, made a wish, and then blew out the candles, getting all of them in one puff. “Yay! I’m the birthday champion! Um, Uncle Elian, this sounds kind of mean, but I don’t want to eat this cake. It’s too pretty!”
“Well, you can keep looking at it for a little while longer. We have cake pops and ice cream, and then you can have a slice of cake.”
Listening outside, Elian finally heard his cue. “Alright, everyone, it’s time to sing, please step away from the door!’ said Illiam. In unison, everyone began to sing.
“Happy Birthday to you…. Happy Birthday to you!” Illiam held the door open for Elian and the cake to get through. “Happy Birthday dear Sevvie…. happy birthday to you!”
“WOW!” exclaimed Sevvie as the cake, candles already lit, was set in front of her. “It’s beautiful! Look! I’m even on the cake! Dad! Take a picture of the cake!”
“I’m still recording, dear. Now, make a wish, and blow out the candles.”
Sevvie, presumably, made a wish, and then blew out the candles, getting all of them in one puff. “Yay! I’m the birthday champion! Um, Uncle Elian, this sounds kind of mean, but I don’t want to eat this cake. It’s too pretty!”
“Well, you can keep looking at it for a little while longer. We have cake pops and ice cream, and then you can have a slice of cake.”
The cake was finally eaten. Though Sevvie was hesitant at first, once she had her first bite of the extra chocolately cake, she scarfed down her first slice and second, and now was on her third. “Where does this cake come from?” asked Mr. Robertson, the only non-relative guest who Elian recognized.
“I baked it. I own the Excellent Cakery in Seattle.” Elian offered the man his buisness card, with a logo of a dancing cake eating a cupcake on it. “We do weddings, birthdays, bar and bat mitzvahs, sweet sixteen, quinceaneras, and-”
“I don’t actually care.” said Mr. Robertson. “I can’t believe you’re a real bakery, that cake is extremely amateurish. And do you know how fattening this cake is?”
“Yup. I can give you nutrition facts if you want. It’s chocolate with chocolate filling and real buttercream icing. Sevvie’s favorite. Look at her go!”
“My child cannot eat this revolting cake. She will get a sugar overdose and die.”
“Um, I think she already is.” Mr. Robertson turned around to see Peumbula eating a great big slice of cake with glee.
“PEMBULA! NO!” Mr. Robertson grabbed the cake and threw it across the room, right into Mateus’s face. Elato got up, and onto his chair, standing in an attempt to make himself seem taller.
“Hey! What’s the big idea! Throwing cake at my husband, rude ass!”
“Is everyone at this party homosexuals!” screamed Mr. Robertson. Illiam rushed to his side.
“What the….”Illiam remembered there were at least a dozen children in the room and censored himself. “-heck are you doing at this party! You are not allowed in our house!”
“Pembula is enjoying herself at the party!”
“Alright, she can stay, but you get out!” said Illiam. “Don’t make me call the home-owners association again!”
“Alright, fine!” said Mr. Robertson. “We don’t want to be at this big gay party anyways! Pembula, let’s go!”
Pembula dejectedly followed her parents out of the party. Illiam went to go get a towel for Mateus and another cocktail for Elato.
“I baked it. I own the Excellent Cakery in Seattle.” Elian offered the man his buisness card, with a logo of a dancing cake eating a cupcake on it. “We do weddings, birthdays, bar and bat mitzvahs, sweet sixteen, quinceaneras, and-”
“I don’t actually care.” said Mr. Robertson. “I can’t believe you’re a real bakery, that cake is extremely amateurish. And do you know how fattening this cake is?”
“Yup. I can give you nutrition facts if you want. It’s chocolate with chocolate filling and real buttercream icing. Sevvie’s favorite. Look at her go!”
“My child cannot eat this revolting cake. She will get a sugar overdose and die.”
“Um, I think she already is.” Mr. Robertson turned around to see Peumbula eating a great big slice of cake with glee.
“PEMBULA! NO!” Mr. Robertson grabbed the cake and threw it across the room, right into Mateus’s face. Elato got up, and onto his chair, standing in an attempt to make himself seem taller.
“Hey! What’s the big idea! Throwing cake at my husband, rude ass!”
“Is everyone at this party homosexuals!” screamed Mr. Robertson. Illiam rushed to his side.
“What the….”Illiam remembered there were at least a dozen children in the room and censored himself. “-heck are you doing at this party! You are not allowed in our house!”
“Pembula is enjoying herself at the party!”
“Alright, she can stay, but you get out!” said Illiam. “Don’t make me call the home-owners association again!”
“Alright, fine!” said Mr. Robertson. “We don’t want to be at this big gay party anyways! Pembula, let’s go!”
Pembula dejectedly followed her parents out of the party. Illiam went to go get a towel for Mateus and another cocktail for Elato.
“Alright, Children, Parents, Relatives, it’s time to open gifts. Who will go first!”
“I’ll go first.” sighed Lydia. “Here’s a gift. I picked it out, just for you.”
“Wow, an Elsa!” said Sevvie. “How did you know I would love her forever?”
“I took a wild guess.”
Morti and Alice handed over their gift. “Here you go, Sevvie!”
“It’s a tape of um, “Goddess Music”, and the book Witches! Wow, I hope it is really about Witches.” Sevvie showed everyone the book and the tape. “Thanks cousins!”
Samantha handed over her gift. “Sevvie, my dear friend, I hope it is one you will always cherish.”
“Cool, um, it’s knives!” Sevvie showed her dads, one of whom was very alarmed (Illiam) and one who seemed rather nonchalant about the gift (Xander). “I love knives, they’re good for…. cuttting things?”
“It’s for making blood pacts.” said Samantha. “In fact, we could even make one right now!”
“Perhaps later, Samantha.” said Illiam, by which he meant “Perhaps Never.” The Azevedo-Veani child, Cadis, handed over a present to Sevvie.
“Math Magic! Cool!” Sevvie showed the others the box containing various math “magic” tricks. “Maybe I’ll even become a mathamagician.”
“It’s a mathematician.” commented Elato.
“I know what I said! Look, you also gave me dungeons and dragons dice.”
“Those are math dice.” added Elato once again.
“Yeah, okay, but I’m going to use them for dungeons and dragons.”
“Fair enough.”
Nadia handed Sevvie her gift, done up in girl scout wrapping paper. “Now, Seva, when you open your gift, there are two things in there that are actually for your dads.”
“Cool.” Sevvie opened the gift. “Aw, look, a shirt. Brownie Girl Scouts are the best! Yeppers, we are! And some cool fun patches. Dads, these two must be for you. I’m A Cookie Dad! Yup, Dads are!”
Illiam frankly believed he deserved both cookie dad patches, but took both from Sevvie and gave one to Xander. “Thank you, Dr. Von Wolff.”
“Yeah, thank you, Dr. Nadia!” said Sevvie. “Who’s next?”
Illiam rubbed his forehead, Sevvie had been doing so well, but nobody commented on it. Mimzy gave Sevvie her present, which was a child’s cookbook. Sevvie was extremely bad at cooking, so Illiam felt nervous about this gift, as well. He wished it was socially acceptable to put the gifts in piles, keep and never let child near.
OIive handed over her gift, confident that it would be better than Alice’s own. Sevvie took it out of its bag and squealed with delight. “LOOK! A Witch Encylopedia! I love it, and I haven’t even read it.”
Olive smiled happily at the gift. “I’m so glad you like it, Sevvie, I know you would.”
Amirah gave Sevvie a rather frozen-themed necklace, and then Bara handed Sevvie a gift bag, and Sevvie reached inside. “Look! It’s a goose! Bara, I’m going to name the goose after you. Her name is Bara.”
Bara smiled. It was what Sevvie had named all the other five gooses she’d gotten for her birthday from her Catalynn then gave Sevvie a cat. It was a very nice stuffed cat. Sevvie was not expecting anything else from Catalynn. Sometimes she wondered what it would be like if Bara and Catalynn met and had to argue about the best animal.
“Here’s a gift from your favorite uncle, Uncle Elian!” said Elian. Sevvie looked nervously to all her other uncles. Luckily Uncle Ehimay wasn’t here. He would probably start a big fight with Elian over that. Sevvie took the gift, and opened it. “Wow, the Pathfinder Beginner Box. And a bunch of sheets of paper!”
“They’re additional rules, you can just put them in the box.” said Elian. “I hope you have a lot of fun learning how to play Pathfinder, Sevvie!”
“I will.” said Sevvie. “Dads, can we play Pathfinder after the party?”
“Um, Sevvie, maybe once this whole house is cleaned up.” said Illiam. The guests laughed, but Xander was confused.
“Why? Why? It is not like they will lose anything from the box? And I rather enjoy the decorations.” said Xander. Illiam made a small, frustrated noise. He wasn’t going to let his house be Arendale for any longer than it had to be.
Oh great, thought Illiam. Here’s another giant box from Saduama. What overelaborate thing was she going to give Sevvie this year? Sevvie took the box from Sasudama. “This is from my Aunt Sasudama, or as I call her, Aunty Sasu! If you’re confused about who she’s related to its nobody, she’s just my aunt because she’s my dads friend and I love her so much!” Sasudama smiled at Sevvie’s affection, and Sevvie got to work unwrapping the present, which was done up with an enormous, fancy bow. Illiam handed Sevvie the scissors. She wasn’t usually allowed them, but this was a special occasion.
Sevvie opened the box, before squealing with delight. Illiam covered his ears. “What-what is it, Sevvie?”
“It’s Samantha! Aunty Sasu, you remembered!” Sevvie reached out to give her aunt a hug.
“Of course I remembered, Sevvie.” said Sasudama, hugging Sevvie. Illiam was not so happy. That Samantha doll only was a fraction of the box’s size. What the hell else was in there?
“Oh, look you even gave me the pretty pink travel outfit, and the green and pink dress, and the black and white dress.” Sevvie took those boxes out, setting them aside the others. Illiam knew he had to do something to stop this madness.
“Sevvie, darling, why don’t you see what else your Aunt Sasudama gave you after the party, she can watch you open up the rest of your present then.”
Sevvie pouted. “Is that okay, Aunty Sasu?”
“It’s fine, dear.” said Sasudama, rustling Sevvie’s tiny head.
“Well, um, Seva, here is a gift from your aunt and uncle, um, Me, and your aunt Thalia, who can’t be here because she’s sick.” said Lukas. Lukas handed over a tinkertoy box. “I don’t know how to wrap presents. Sorry.”
“It’s cool! That means less chance of me getting a papercut! These look like fun! 30 building ideas, that’s a lot. That’s too many building ideas.”
“Well, really, you can build anything you want, and have a good time.” Illiam was at least grateful it wasn’t another chemistry set.
“Thanks Uncle Lukas!” Lukas then handed over a bag.
“Oh, and this is from Messel. He’s sorry he couldn’t come to the party.”
Sevvie opened the bag and took out a magic wand. “It’s a wand! COOL! Tell Messel thanks! And that he’s cool! And that I say hi!”
“Um, okay, I will.”
Daniys handed over a long, spindly gift to Sevvie. “Guess what it is, kid!”
“What is it, aunt Daniys?”
“Sevvie, you have to guess!”
“Um…..” Sevvie looked at the gift. “Is it…. baseball bats?”
Daniys shook her head. “Just open it.”
“It’s a keyboard!” No, Daniys, no, don’t encourage her! Illiam knew that nobody in his family was good at singing, not even him, but now Illiam’s mind was full of ideas about Sevvie, hours into the night, playing songs on her keyboard and singing along in her high, shrieking, off-key voice. Even with training, neither he nor Elian had ever gotten better, so he had never wasted Sevvie’s time on training. But now… Illiam shuddered at the very thought.
Oh, wonderful, here was Sebastian with yet another largish gift for Seva. Could any of the child’s relatives give Sevvie any sort of reasonable gift? Well, Tinkertoys were at least educational, though Illiam had visions of stepping on countless sticks and connectors, scattered across the house.
“Lets see! This is from my grandpas! Poppop, and Grandpa 3000!”
“Take the big one out first, Sevvie!” said Georg.
“Okay, my dads told me that I should do the opposite, but I’ll listen to you. Look! It’s an animal shelter!” Sevvie looked through the bag and took out the other things, animal figures, and put them on the table. “And a bunch of animals! And… and some knights! And a witch lady! And faeries! And unicorns, and the royal court. And… a pokemon?”
Sebastian sighed. “We were going for an animals theme, but your grandfather insisted.”
“I thought it would be more fun with the magic people.”
“It’s cool! They can own the animal shelter. Thanks Pappop and Grandpa 3000! You’re the best!”
Illiam stood up and clapped his hands. “Alright, Xander, take the camcorder. Seva, your parents have a very special gift for you. A very, very special gift! That I hope you will love forever!” He was about to outshine everyone at this damn party. Sasudama, trying to buy Seva’s love with American girl dolls, Georg and Sebastian buying a shitload of animal figures. Illiam knew he would step on one of them by accident or one of them would get sucked up by the vacuum cleaner and Sevvie would cry for hours.
Xander took the camcorder. “Illiam. We must speak about something very impo-”
“We can talk later, Xander, okay? Sevvie, let’s go outside.”
“No, Illiam, we must-”
“Xander! Let’s go!” Illiam led the parade of people outside into the slightly cold weather and to the horse barn. “Well, Sevvie, we have a very special surprise for you this year. Your father and I are very impressed on how you’ve grown up over the last year, how much more mature you’ve become, how much better you are about being polite, and making friends with others, and all the rest, and so we’ve decided to give you a very special gift!” Illiam threw open the doors of the horse barn, only to see…..
Nothing.
WHERE WAS THE PONY?!?
Illiam looked to Xander. Was that what he was trying to warn him about? “Xander, stop recording for a second. Or, you know what, just give me the camcorder, you’ll futz it up.” Xander gave Illiam the camcorder and he pressed the “stop recording” button, before he gave the camcorder to Lukas and took Xander aside.
“Where is the P-O-N-Y?” Illiam whispered loudly.
Xander looked down sheepishly. “In the end, I could not do it, Illiam. I went to the horse barn to pick up the miniature equine. And I looked into its eyes, and I saw nothing but pure hatred and fear. The pony was an wicked beast, pure darkness indeed! I could not allow Seva to ride it. I could not allow her to be corrupted by the unholy equine. And so, I saved her from the pony. I saved us all from the pony.”
“Then what are we going to tell Sevvie?” Illiam looked to his daughter, who was tapping her foot in expectation.
“Tell her the truth. SEVA!” Xander turned to his daughter and opened his mouth, but Illiam clasped his hands over it.
“Seva, your father and I are going to sing for you! In the arena! The largest portion of this house that we can gather everyone in!’
“What?” exclaimed Xander. “Sing? But Illiam!”
“YAY! Dads are going to sing! What are you going to sing!”
“We are going to sing….. a song from Frozen!” said Illiam. “Yes, a song, from Frozen.”
“Sing the song that Anna and Hans sing!” said Sevvie, bouncing up and down. “That’s a good song for dads to sing!”
“No it isn’t.” said Illiam. “Sevvie, Hans betrays Anna in the end.”
“And Hans has met Anna under false pretenses, manipulating their original meetings. Neither of us did such.” said Xander. Illiam rolled his eyes.
“Alright, Sevvie, we’ll sing. I will be Hans, and your father will be Anna. Though admittedly, I don’t know all the lyrics.”
Xander blinked. “I have memorized all the lyrics, after watching the film with Seva 72 times. Anyway, let us move into the horse arena, it is there we shall sing.”
“I’ll go first.” sighed Lydia. “Here’s a gift. I picked it out, just for you.”
“Wow, an Elsa!” said Sevvie. “How did you know I would love her forever?”
“I took a wild guess.”
Morti and Alice handed over their gift. “Here you go, Sevvie!”
“It’s a tape of um, “Goddess Music”, and the book Witches! Wow, I hope it is really about Witches.” Sevvie showed everyone the book and the tape. “Thanks cousins!”
Samantha handed over her gift. “Sevvie, my dear friend, I hope it is one you will always cherish.”
“Cool, um, it’s knives!” Sevvie showed her dads, one of whom was very alarmed (Illiam) and one who seemed rather nonchalant about the gift (Xander). “I love knives, they’re good for…. cuttting things?”
“It’s for making blood pacts.” said Samantha. “In fact, we could even make one right now!”
“Perhaps later, Samantha.” said Illiam, by which he meant “Perhaps Never.” The Azevedo-Veani child, Cadis, handed over a present to Sevvie.
“Math Magic! Cool!” Sevvie showed the others the box containing various math “magic” tricks. “Maybe I’ll even become a mathamagician.”
“It’s a mathematician.” commented Elato.
“I know what I said! Look, you also gave me dungeons and dragons dice.”
“Those are math dice.” added Elato once again.
“Yeah, okay, but I’m going to use them for dungeons and dragons.”
“Fair enough.”
Nadia handed Sevvie her gift, done up in girl scout wrapping paper. “Now, Seva, when you open your gift, there are two things in there that are actually for your dads.”
“Cool.” Sevvie opened the gift. “Aw, look, a shirt. Brownie Girl Scouts are the best! Yeppers, we are! And some cool fun patches. Dads, these two must be for you. I’m A Cookie Dad! Yup, Dads are!”
Illiam frankly believed he deserved both cookie dad patches, but took both from Sevvie and gave one to Xander. “Thank you, Dr. Von Wolff.”
“Yeah, thank you, Dr. Nadia!” said Sevvie. “Who’s next?”
Illiam rubbed his forehead, Sevvie had been doing so well, but nobody commented on it. Mimzy gave Sevvie her present, which was a child’s cookbook. Sevvie was extremely bad at cooking, so Illiam felt nervous about this gift, as well. He wished it was socially acceptable to put the gifts in piles, keep and never let child near.
OIive handed over her gift, confident that it would be better than Alice’s own. Sevvie took it out of its bag and squealed with delight. “LOOK! A Witch Encylopedia! I love it, and I haven’t even read it.”
Olive smiled happily at the gift. “I’m so glad you like it, Sevvie, I know you would.”
Amirah gave Sevvie a rather frozen-themed necklace, and then Bara handed Sevvie a gift bag, and Sevvie reached inside. “Look! It’s a goose! Bara, I’m going to name the goose after you. Her name is Bara.”
Bara smiled. It was what Sevvie had named all the other five gooses she’d gotten for her birthday from her Catalynn then gave Sevvie a cat. It was a very nice stuffed cat. Sevvie was not expecting anything else from Catalynn. Sometimes she wondered what it would be like if Bara and Catalynn met and had to argue about the best animal.
“Here’s a gift from your favorite uncle, Uncle Elian!” said Elian. Sevvie looked nervously to all her other uncles. Luckily Uncle Ehimay wasn’t here. He would probably start a big fight with Elian over that. Sevvie took the gift, and opened it. “Wow, the Pathfinder Beginner Box. And a bunch of sheets of paper!”
“They’re additional rules, you can just put them in the box.” said Elian. “I hope you have a lot of fun learning how to play Pathfinder, Sevvie!”
“I will.” said Sevvie. “Dads, can we play Pathfinder after the party?”
“Um, Sevvie, maybe once this whole house is cleaned up.” said Illiam. The guests laughed, but Xander was confused.
“Why? Why? It is not like they will lose anything from the box? And I rather enjoy the decorations.” said Xander. Illiam made a small, frustrated noise. He wasn’t going to let his house be Arendale for any longer than it had to be.
Oh great, thought Illiam. Here’s another giant box from Saduama. What overelaborate thing was she going to give Sevvie this year? Sevvie took the box from Sasudama. “This is from my Aunt Sasudama, or as I call her, Aunty Sasu! If you’re confused about who she’s related to its nobody, she’s just my aunt because she’s my dads friend and I love her so much!” Sasudama smiled at Sevvie’s affection, and Sevvie got to work unwrapping the present, which was done up with an enormous, fancy bow. Illiam handed Sevvie the scissors. She wasn’t usually allowed them, but this was a special occasion.
Sevvie opened the box, before squealing with delight. Illiam covered his ears. “What-what is it, Sevvie?”
“It’s Samantha! Aunty Sasu, you remembered!” Sevvie reached out to give her aunt a hug.
“Of course I remembered, Sevvie.” said Sasudama, hugging Sevvie. Illiam was not so happy. That Samantha doll only was a fraction of the box’s size. What the hell else was in there?
“Oh, look you even gave me the pretty pink travel outfit, and the green and pink dress, and the black and white dress.” Sevvie took those boxes out, setting them aside the others. Illiam knew he had to do something to stop this madness.
“Sevvie, darling, why don’t you see what else your Aunt Sasudama gave you after the party, she can watch you open up the rest of your present then.”
Sevvie pouted. “Is that okay, Aunty Sasu?”
“It’s fine, dear.” said Sasudama, rustling Sevvie’s tiny head.
“Well, um, Seva, here is a gift from your aunt and uncle, um, Me, and your aunt Thalia, who can’t be here because she’s sick.” said Lukas. Lukas handed over a tinkertoy box. “I don’t know how to wrap presents. Sorry.”
“It’s cool! That means less chance of me getting a papercut! These look like fun! 30 building ideas, that’s a lot. That’s too many building ideas.”
“Well, really, you can build anything you want, and have a good time.” Illiam was at least grateful it wasn’t another chemistry set.
“Thanks Uncle Lukas!” Lukas then handed over a bag.
“Oh, and this is from Messel. He’s sorry he couldn’t come to the party.”
Sevvie opened the bag and took out a magic wand. “It’s a wand! COOL! Tell Messel thanks! And that he’s cool! And that I say hi!”
“Um, okay, I will.”
Daniys handed over a long, spindly gift to Sevvie. “Guess what it is, kid!”
“What is it, aunt Daniys?”
“Sevvie, you have to guess!”
“Um…..” Sevvie looked at the gift. “Is it…. baseball bats?”
Daniys shook her head. “Just open it.”
“It’s a keyboard!” No, Daniys, no, don’t encourage her! Illiam knew that nobody in his family was good at singing, not even him, but now Illiam’s mind was full of ideas about Sevvie, hours into the night, playing songs on her keyboard and singing along in her high, shrieking, off-key voice. Even with training, neither he nor Elian had ever gotten better, so he had never wasted Sevvie’s time on training. But now… Illiam shuddered at the very thought.
Oh, wonderful, here was Sebastian with yet another largish gift for Seva. Could any of the child’s relatives give Sevvie any sort of reasonable gift? Well, Tinkertoys were at least educational, though Illiam had visions of stepping on countless sticks and connectors, scattered across the house.
“Lets see! This is from my grandpas! Poppop, and Grandpa 3000!”
“Take the big one out first, Sevvie!” said Georg.
“Okay, my dads told me that I should do the opposite, but I’ll listen to you. Look! It’s an animal shelter!” Sevvie looked through the bag and took out the other things, animal figures, and put them on the table. “And a bunch of animals! And… and some knights! And a witch lady! And faeries! And unicorns, and the royal court. And… a pokemon?”
Sebastian sighed. “We were going for an animals theme, but your grandfather insisted.”
“I thought it would be more fun with the magic people.”
“It’s cool! They can own the animal shelter. Thanks Pappop and Grandpa 3000! You’re the best!”
Illiam stood up and clapped his hands. “Alright, Xander, take the camcorder. Seva, your parents have a very special gift for you. A very, very special gift! That I hope you will love forever!” He was about to outshine everyone at this damn party. Sasudama, trying to buy Seva’s love with American girl dolls, Georg and Sebastian buying a shitload of animal figures. Illiam knew he would step on one of them by accident or one of them would get sucked up by the vacuum cleaner and Sevvie would cry for hours.
Xander took the camcorder. “Illiam. We must speak about something very impo-”
“We can talk later, Xander, okay? Sevvie, let’s go outside.”
“No, Illiam, we must-”
“Xander! Let’s go!” Illiam led the parade of people outside into the slightly cold weather and to the horse barn. “Well, Sevvie, we have a very special surprise for you this year. Your father and I are very impressed on how you’ve grown up over the last year, how much more mature you’ve become, how much better you are about being polite, and making friends with others, and all the rest, and so we’ve decided to give you a very special gift!” Illiam threw open the doors of the horse barn, only to see…..
Nothing.
WHERE WAS THE PONY?!?
Illiam looked to Xander. Was that what he was trying to warn him about? “Xander, stop recording for a second. Or, you know what, just give me the camcorder, you’ll futz it up.” Xander gave Illiam the camcorder and he pressed the “stop recording” button, before he gave the camcorder to Lukas and took Xander aside.
“Where is the P-O-N-Y?” Illiam whispered loudly.
Xander looked down sheepishly. “In the end, I could not do it, Illiam. I went to the horse barn to pick up the miniature equine. And I looked into its eyes, and I saw nothing but pure hatred and fear. The pony was an wicked beast, pure darkness indeed! I could not allow Seva to ride it. I could not allow her to be corrupted by the unholy equine. And so, I saved her from the pony. I saved us all from the pony.”
“Then what are we going to tell Sevvie?” Illiam looked to his daughter, who was tapping her foot in expectation.
“Tell her the truth. SEVA!” Xander turned to his daughter and opened his mouth, but Illiam clasped his hands over it.
“Seva, your father and I are going to sing for you! In the arena! The largest portion of this house that we can gather everyone in!’
“What?” exclaimed Xander. “Sing? But Illiam!”
“YAY! Dads are going to sing! What are you going to sing!”
“We are going to sing….. a song from Frozen!” said Illiam. “Yes, a song, from Frozen.”
“Sing the song that Anna and Hans sing!” said Sevvie, bouncing up and down. “That’s a good song for dads to sing!”
“No it isn’t.” said Illiam. “Sevvie, Hans betrays Anna in the end.”
“And Hans has met Anna under false pretenses, manipulating their original meetings. Neither of us did such.” said Xander. Illiam rolled his eyes.
“Alright, Sevvie, we’ll sing. I will be Hans, and your father will be Anna. Though admittedly, I don’t know all the lyrics.”
Xander blinked. “I have memorized all the lyrics, after watching the film with Seva 72 times. Anyway, let us move into the horse arena, it is there we shall sing.”
Sevvie sat down at the front of the crowd. Daniys went back for Sevvie’s miniature piano, and while she promised to teach Sevvie how to play all the songs from Frozen, she was going to play this one. Lukas still had the camcorder, though Illiam and Xander had quite forgotten, and was already recording it.
“Alright, Sevvie, um, here we go.” Illiam opened his mouth. “Um, um, can I say something… wacky?”
“I love… wacky.” sung Xander, shaking his head at Illiam for the wrong lyrics.
“My whole life has been a series of doors in my face, before suddenly then I bump into you….”
“I was thinking the same thing. ‘Cause like, I’ve been searching my whole life to find my own place, and maybe it's the party talking or the chocolate fondue!”
“But with you…”
‘But with you….”
“I found my place….” sung Xander.
“I found my place?” Xander shook his head again.
“And it’s like nothing I’ve ever known before!” they sung together, Illiam slightly after Xander. “Love is an open door! Love is an open door! Love is an open door! Love is an open door!” Iliam added another “Love is an open door!”.
They sung another “With you part.” Lydia and her older brother had already left the arena, horrified by Illiam’s singing. Sebastian was doing his best to try and keep smiling, while Georg wondered why his son had married someone who couldn’t sing. Well, we couldn’t all be Daniys or Ehimay, with musical significant others.
“I mean it’s crazy!” said Xander.
“What?”
“We finish each other’s…..”
“Sentances?” sung Illiam, vaguely unsure. That seemed to fit a little too well.
“I was going to say that!” sung Xander, though he wasn’t actually going to say that.
“I’ve never met somebody.”
“Who thinks so much like me!” sung Xander, but Illiam accidentally sung you instead of me. Xander went on with the song, singing “Jynx!” but Illiam didn’t. Xander sung by himself, “Our mental synchronization, can have but one explanation.” Xander looked to Illiam, who had turned pale and frozen up. “You?”
“And…. me?”
“Were...”
“meant to be?”
Illiam looked to Xander, hoping he would sing again, but Xander prompted Illiam on, and Illiam had no idea what to say. “LOVE IS AN OPEN DOOR!” Xander frowned, but joined in. “Love is an open dooor, love is an open dooooor!” As Xander sung “Life can be so much more”, Illiam sung “Love is an open door!” again.
“With you…..” sung Illiam.
“With you!”
“With you!”
“With you!”
“With you!!”
“With you!”
“Love is an open door!”
Daniys stopped playing, and Illiam and Xander looked out to the audience. Sevvie stood up and clapped loudly for her fathers. She was the only one.
“Alright, Sevvie, um, here we go.” Illiam opened his mouth. “Um, um, can I say something… wacky?”
“I love… wacky.” sung Xander, shaking his head at Illiam for the wrong lyrics.
“My whole life has been a series of doors in my face, before suddenly then I bump into you….”
“I was thinking the same thing. ‘Cause like, I’ve been searching my whole life to find my own place, and maybe it's the party talking or the chocolate fondue!”
“But with you…”
‘But with you….”
“I found my place….” sung Xander.
“I found my place?” Xander shook his head again.
“And it’s like nothing I’ve ever known before!” they sung together, Illiam slightly after Xander. “Love is an open door! Love is an open door! Love is an open door! Love is an open door!” Iliam added another “Love is an open door!”.
They sung another “With you part.” Lydia and her older brother had already left the arena, horrified by Illiam’s singing. Sebastian was doing his best to try and keep smiling, while Georg wondered why his son had married someone who couldn’t sing. Well, we couldn’t all be Daniys or Ehimay, with musical significant others.
“I mean it’s crazy!” said Xander.
“What?”
“We finish each other’s…..”
“Sentances?” sung Illiam, vaguely unsure. That seemed to fit a little too well.
“I was going to say that!” sung Xander, though he wasn’t actually going to say that.
“I’ve never met somebody.”
“Who thinks so much like me!” sung Xander, but Illiam accidentally sung you instead of me. Xander went on with the song, singing “Jynx!” but Illiam didn’t. Xander sung by himself, “Our mental synchronization, can have but one explanation.” Xander looked to Illiam, who had turned pale and frozen up. “You?”
“And…. me?”
“Were...”
“meant to be?”
Illiam looked to Xander, hoping he would sing again, but Xander prompted Illiam on, and Illiam had no idea what to say. “LOVE IS AN OPEN DOOR!” Xander frowned, but joined in. “Love is an open dooor, love is an open dooooor!” As Xander sung “Life can be so much more”, Illiam sung “Love is an open door!” again.
“With you…..” sung Illiam.
“With you!”
“With you!”
“With you!”
“With you!!”
“With you!”
“Love is an open door!”
Daniys stopped playing, and Illiam and Xander looked out to the audience. Sevvie stood up and clapped loudly for her fathers. She was the only one.
“Alright, Lukas, thank you for holding the camcorder.” said Illiam, taking back the camcorder. “Thank god that video is never seeing the light of day.”
“I uploaded it to youtube.” said Lukas. “I thought it was cute.”
“What!? Lukas! No!”
Sevvie skipped back to her house with Xander. “I think you did really well, dad, though other dad should have practiced more. It was a really cool gift.”
“Seva, it was not intended to be your true birthday gift. I, um…” Xander looked at Sevvie’s dark grey eyes, so innocent, so unsuspecting. “We were going to get you another dog, but we don’t want you to believe a dog is just for your birthday. It is simply irresponsible parenting at its worst. Seva, why don’t we go to the animal shelter this week and pick out another canine companion for you? Or perhaps you might like another goat?”
Sevvie smiled widely. “Another dog is cool! I hope they have a great big fluffy one, one that Jiro can ride.”
“Your brother is almost as old as you, he is much too big to ride a dog.” explained Xander. “Anyway, why don’t you say goodbye to all your guests, and then we shall go inside and you can finish opening your Aunt Sasudama’s gift?”
“Okay! Then can I have another slice of cake?”
“Only because it is your birthday, Seva.”
“Yay!”
“I uploaded it to youtube.” said Lukas. “I thought it was cute.”
“What!? Lukas! No!”
Sevvie skipped back to her house with Xander. “I think you did really well, dad, though other dad should have practiced more. It was a really cool gift.”
“Seva, it was not intended to be your true birthday gift. I, um…” Xander looked at Sevvie’s dark grey eyes, so innocent, so unsuspecting. “We were going to get you another dog, but we don’t want you to believe a dog is just for your birthday. It is simply irresponsible parenting at its worst. Seva, why don’t we go to the animal shelter this week and pick out another canine companion for you? Or perhaps you might like another goat?”
Sevvie smiled widely. “Another dog is cool! I hope they have a great big fluffy one, one that Jiro can ride.”
“Your brother is almost as old as you, he is much too big to ride a dog.” explained Xander. “Anyway, why don’t you say goodbye to all your guests, and then we shall go inside and you can finish opening your Aunt Sasudama’s gift?”
“Okay! Then can I have another slice of cake?”
“Only because it is your birthday, Seva.”
“Yay!”
Illiam sat in an enormous pile of half-taken down decorations, sipping at a ‘Let it Go.’ “Xander, we are not doing this for another two years. This was waaaay too much.”
‘I rather liked it, though I’ll take your word for it.” Xander busily put Princess Anna and Hans into the closet, where they belonged. “I believe everyone had a splendid time.”
“The next birthday party will be…. Sevvie’s 11th birthday party.”
“Um, dads, what about me?” said Jiro. “What about my next birthday party?”
“That will be your one after Sevvie’s 11th.”
Jiro frowned. “That’s not fair! Why can’t that be the next birthday party?”
“And what, Seva shall miss her next three? Jiro, you are sounding rather selfish. You always get like this when something nice happens to your sister.” said Xander.
Jiro's eyes began to water, and Xander paused. "I... I mean... what do you even want a birthday party for? It is not like you have any friends?"
Jiro began to cry and ran upstairs, and Sebastian (who was still at the house despite Illiam's multiple attempts to get him to leave) followed him. Xander blinked. "What have I done wrong, Illiam, have I not spoken the truth?"
Illiam sighed. "That should have been on the checklist. It may be Sevvie's special day, but please, Xander, don't offend Jiro."
‘I rather liked it, though I’ll take your word for it.” Xander busily put Princess Anna and Hans into the closet, where they belonged. “I believe everyone had a splendid time.”
“The next birthday party will be…. Sevvie’s 11th birthday party.”
“Um, dads, what about me?” said Jiro. “What about my next birthday party?”
“That will be your one after Sevvie’s 11th.”
Jiro frowned. “That’s not fair! Why can’t that be the next birthday party?”
“And what, Seva shall miss her next three? Jiro, you are sounding rather selfish. You always get like this when something nice happens to your sister.” said Xander.
Jiro's eyes began to water, and Xander paused. "I... I mean... what do you even want a birthday party for? It is not like you have any friends?"
Jiro began to cry and ran upstairs, and Sebastian (who was still at the house despite Illiam's multiple attempts to get him to leave) followed him. Xander blinked. "What have I done wrong, Illiam, have I not spoken the truth?"
Illiam sighed. "That should have been on the checklist. It may be Sevvie's special day, but please, Xander, don't offend Jiro."
Author's Notes:
In the original end to this story, Xander told Jiro that he couldn't have a party, was selfish, and didn't have any friends. Wait, that's what Xander is doing in this ending. Well, he was a lot meaner about it in the original. I will call this a failed story. I don't think anyone liked it, and the presents segment is ungodly long.
Length: 5497 words
Date: March 22nd, 2015
Fun Fact: This is the first Snooplet. At over 5000 words, it's officially gained the title Snooplet #1.
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