Chapter 117 - Birthday Presents from Jean

Jean looked wistfully at the falling snow. He did not say anything for several minutes, until the glow wine in his glass ran out.

"I have a birthday present for you..." He placed his glass on the table and pulled a box from under his coat. "I know, surely Caspar has given you very expensive gifts, so I will not try to give gifts of expensive items. I know they will not be comparable..."

Finland was stunned to see the little box on the table. They were never together when Finland had a birthday because Jean was usually busy with his work, but he would always send her flowers.

This was the first time Jean gave her a birthday present in person. For Finland, Jean's mere presence here was already enough.

"You don't need to give me special gifts..." Finland said with a smile. "Flowers like usual is good enough for me."

"This is a birthday present I bought for you when I first moved to Paris, but I didn't have the chance to give it to you because we never met on your birthday, and for some reason I was happy to have it in my apartment. At that time, I promised myself I would give it to you when you arrive in Paris. Now that you have managed to come here, I want to present it to you as a welcome gift. Welcome to Paris... Open it."

Finland slowly opened the box. She was touched because Jean had kept this gift for her for 4 years.

Slowly a soft tune started playing in the pretty little box. The tune was La Vien Rose by Édith Piaf.

Ahhh, apparently Jean gave Finland a music box.

"Th... thank you... This is so beautiful." said Finland.

"Billie Yves told me that the song that you really like, 'You Are Enough', was inspired by La Vien Rose. They don't sound similar at all, but the songs are indeed related. I think you will also like this one..." Jean said with a soft smile.

"You're right. I love it." Finland said as she stroked her music box with affection. "Thank you..."

"I'm not done yet..." Jean said later. "Do you remember how many gifts I usually give you on your birthday?"

"Uhmm... you usually send me flowers," Finland tried to remember, "You mean how many flower stalks?"

Jean nodded.

"Hmm... you always add one white rose among the red roses." Finland reached into her cellphone, "I still have the pictures. I can count..."

Jean laughed at that. "No need. That means that you never noticed that the flowers I send each year increase by one, according to your age."

Finland covered her mouth in surprise. All this time she received her birthday flowers from Jean without thinking about anything.

If what he said was true, that meant last year Jean sent her 23 roses, and the previous year 22 roses... She didn't pay attention at all. Just the thought of receiving flowers was enough to make her very grateful.

"This year I have 24 gifts for you," Jean said again. "All of them are gifts I prepared for you for the next two weeks. This glow wine is the first gift. The second gift is the music box. Starting tomorrow I will give the next gifts along our journey. So, these next two weeks will be like treasure hunting... Every day there will be a surprise for you... haha..."

Finland's eyes widened when she heard Jean's explanation.

How exciting! What a thrill! Her birthday would be celebrated throughout their two-week trip!

Even though she received very expensive presents from Caspar, it felt like the gifts Jean had provided were more personal and well thought out. Finland couldn't wait to receive the next gifts...

"Yes, it's really exciting... Jean, thank you... Thank you ... !!" Finland could not contain her excitement and hugged Jean enthusiastically. She had never felt so happy on her birthday. As a child from a poor family, she never celebrated her birthday, let alone receive a birthday gift. Jean made her feel really touched...

Jean chuckled, he was very happy because the gifts managed to make Finland happy. He couldn't wait to give her more gifts along their journey.

"Want to go to Sacre Coeur?" he asked her finally. Finland nodded and finished her glow wine.

They then walked up hand in hand and admired the beauty of the magnificent basilica. The snow fell harder and half an hour later they were already walking home. Finland could not bear to stay longer outside because Jean was not wearing gloves and a beanie.

Finland cooked pasta for their dinner and they both ate while chatting about the places they will visit next.