31 Sad Birthday

After finishing the dinner party at her favorite restaurant, Rose surprised Lyra when she opted to retire back home for the remainder of the night. Her roommate found it eerie that she didn't have even the slightest enthusiasm to go clubbing like she usually did.

Rose wasn't drunk either, only drank a little despite hitting twenty-one. Well, it's not like she haven't drank before since the legal age for drinking was eighteen back in Australia. Not that she ever really even obeyed age requirements for anything. It's just that now she was legally allowed to drink in the States.

Locking the door behind them, Lyra watched as the birthday girl dodged all the wrapped presents scattered on the floor before plopping herself onto the living room couch and throwing her head back in exhaustion.

The roommate's eyes grew wide at the abundance of gifts lying around and decorating the medium-sized space. They weren't there that morning so someone else must've brought them over. Lyra looked at Rose who didn't even bother to pay a single one her attention.

Making her way across the booby-trapped area, Lyra also took a seat next to her friend on the adjacent chair before picking up the closest ribbon present and reading the name on it.

"Who's Henry Carrington?" Lyra asked aloud as she analyzed the detailed wrapping, shaking the gift to guess what was inside.

"Someone who wants to get Wellington business?" Rose asked rhetorically. "Practically all of these are from people I don't know. They just send it over to the Wellington's main residence and Kurt has them shipped over back to me. It's an annual ritual," Rose answers while rolling her eyes, not too appreciative of the routine gesture.

Her friend could safely assume that this was how people demonstrated goodwill in business. Though not a Wellington herself, Rose was still connected to Wellington blood, namely very close with Kurtis. No wonder she paid the gifts no mind.

Looking around the rest of the room, Lyra wasn't used to seeing so much color decorating the usually plain brown floors. Then suddenly, her eyes dropped on a wooden box, much unlike the others. It wasn't wrapped nicely or topped with a ribbon, just a plain box made of wood.

It was like going through a maze to finally reach it without stepping on anything along the way, but when Lyra did eventually reach it, she lifted it up and smiled at Rose who was staring curiously back.

"This one is a bit different," Lyra commented. Rose's face lit up as she beckoned her friend to bring the offering forward.

Placing the box down between them on the couch, the two tried to open it, but couldn't seem to find a key to open the lock. They looked around in case a key was attached but was dropped, but there was no sign of one. A second later, an excited smile crept onto Rose's face as she dug into her pants pocket and yanked out the three inch manila envelope that Kurtis tossed to her earlier in the morning.

Turning the key at the tick of eleven, the birthday girl creaked open the box and lifted the cover to reveal a bottle sitting comfortably on a pile of shredded paper hay.

Rose scanned the name on the bottle and seemed satisfied before handing it to Lyra for inspection.

"Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti Grand Cru…" she sounded out. After she probably butchered the name despite studying in France for over a year, Lyra turned to the other girl who seemed to have more knowledge of wines.

"That one bottle is equivalent to about seven hundred bottles of Crown Royal Whisky," Rose said nodding her head as her friend's jaw dropped.

Lyra quickly placed it back down onto the unlabeled wooden crate that the bottle came in, afraid to hold an equivalent of a Honda civic in her two hands.

"Pretty good cousin Kurt is," Rose said before covering the box for another time. "That's probably the only present I'll like here," she said pitifully, but still satisfied.

"How about this one?" Lyra reached over from behind the couch and brought out a simple pink-wrapped rectangular-shaped box, which was not too light nor too heavy. She flipped it up and down, but couldn't find a tag that came with 99% of the presents lying around.

Indeed there was no name or initials on the outer layer so Rose tore it open without hesitance. Lyra felt a little bad for the person who wrapped the present so nicely only to have it torn in such a fashion. At least the birthday girl seemed to enjoy the process.

When Rose finally got to the bottom, a sturdy black gift box was waiting. With steady hands, she slowly removed the lid, unveiling a gorgeous ivory-colored dress.

"It's lovely!" Lyra gasped at the sight before glancing at her friend who wore an unreadable expression.

[Wait…Rose doesn't wear dresses…]

Instead of giving a distasteful remark about the "thoughtful" gift, Rose only placed the lid back on time before putting it aside safely next to her.

"Hey Ly. On second thought, let's get a taste of that."

Lyra couldn't figure out if Rose liked the present or not, but she sure did like Kurtis's, putting it to good use and sharing a few glasses with her company.

When Rose did finally get drunk, Lyra helped her back into her room. She was diligent to help her remove her shoes and jacket before pulling the sheets over her.

"Happy 21st Rose," Lyra whispered to her half-conscious friend before switching off the lights and almost walking out, only to be stopped by the call of her name.

"Lyra," Rose called in her mellow voice, sounding almost as if she was awake and urging Lyra turned around. "Make sure you don't turn out like me…" the girl mumbled before flipping over to the other side. "Don't bury your feelings…"

The sober girl walked back over to pull the sheets over her friend. In the strip of light from the living room, Lyra could see the half-conscious sleeping beauty let a tear roll down her cheek.

She never knew the jubilant Aussie could ever look so sad.

"Thanks Rose, I'll make sure to clear things up with Kurtis before I leave," Lyra assured in a quiet whisper that lulled the girl into a much needed sleep.