We invited our friends to dinner once again, we're throwing up a barbecue for them.
We're almost done preparing the food when all our friends finally arrive at my house. Everyone hugs Nessie, wishing her a very happy birthday. Nessie's also given presents, of course. I'm saving my gift for her till the evening, when we'll get to be alone.
"Happy B-Day, Nessie!" James takes his turn to hug my beautiful girl. It's a pretty long, tight hug.
"Awww, thanks, James," Nessie says, hugging him back tightly.
This hug seems to be going on for way too long, really.
"Ekhm, Sweetheart," I clear my throat. "Let's get our guests seated, maybe?"
"Oh, yes, Honey," Nessie luckily snaps back into reality. "Everybody, please, sit down at the table right now."
"You sure you don't want us to help you?" Dinah, Alexa, Makenzie, Mike and James ask in unison.
"Nah, everything's ready," Nessie tells them. "I just need the grill to be hot now."
"Let the Barbecue Master take care of that, Lionessie," I tell her.
"Lionessie... Wow... What a cute nickname!" the girls exclaim.
"Thank you, Logie-bear," Nessie says, smiling. "Logan came up with this nickname, isn't it lovely?" she tells the girls, chuckling softly.
I blush instantly. To hide it, I go to the garden to get the grill ready for barbecue.
"I'll go with you," James says. "I'd love to learn how Master Henderson prepares his famous perfect barbecues."
"Me, too," Mike adds, following us.
At least I managed to get James away from my beloved Nessie.
The barbecue itself goes on well, we have a very good time.
As everyone leaves, I pull Nessie close to myself.
"Time for my gift," I say before kissing her. "Let's go upstairs."
I lead her to my room and hand her a colorful box.
"Thank you, Logie," Nessie kisses me on the cheek. "It's one of my favorite fragrances."
"Anything for you," I say, blushing. "In fact, Presley helped me a bit this time."
"Wait... That day when you two were sitting outside, you were discussing this matter, eh?"
"Yep," I admit. "You're a pretty good detective, Sweetheart."
The doorbell rings.
"It's Dr. Lamberg!" Pres calls out.
We get downstairs.
"Hello, Dr. Lamberg," we greet him.
"Hello, Mr. Henderson, hello Miss Nessie," he greets us. "I've good news! Mr. Henderson, I think you're ready to try walking on crutches today!" he says,handing me the crutches.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Dr. Lamberg helps me to adjust their height and teaches me how to position and use them. Walking on them is quite different from how I used them before, the time I tried to save my love from some guy and got injured. It's pretty tricky to balance rightly, but -more or less- I'm walking much more independently.
"Well done, Mr. Henderson!" Dr. Lamberg exclaims very cheerfully. "Try to use them in between our meetings, but not too much, we still have to be careful."
"Thanks, Dr. Lamberg," we tell him as he leaves.
"Now this is the best gift I could get," Nessie tells me before she leans in for a very passionate kiss. "I'm so proud of you, Babe."
I blush again. Not sure about James' behavior, but it still seems Nessie loves me. That's what counts.
