Salvation (Joseph Seed)

25. The Birthday Dinner

That night, as Joseph was laying in bed with his arm around Evelyn, he knew that he had to do something for her birthday. Just something small that let her know that her cared about her. So, the next morning he made some phone calls and arranged something for her.

The next day Joseph seemed to be in a very good mood and that seemed contagious to Evelyn, she juts laughed through her confusion when he told her to get ready to go out. She showered and got dressed into a pair of jeans and a sweater, putting on her Project necklace of course. When she went back downstairs she found Joseph dressed in his usual black jeans and white dress shirt, but this time he was wearing a back blazer as well.

Joseph held out his hand to the young woman with a smile on his face, Evelyn just smiled as she placed her hand in his. Joseph walked her out of the house and they climbed into the car together.

"Are you going to tell me where we are going?" Evelyn asked, raising an eyebrow at him as they drove away from the house.

"We are going to John's ranch" Joseph informed her with a small smile.

"Why?" she asked, wondering what Joseph was planning.

"We couldn't do anything for your birthday yesterday so we are going to celebrate today" he smiled at her before returning his attention back to the road.

"I told you that you didn't have to do anything for my birthday" Evelyn laughed softly, shaking her head as she looked out the window.

"But I disagreed" Joseph smiled at her again, Evelyn glance back at him before laughing to herself. It's true, she didn't care much about celebrating her birthday but she did appreciate Joseph being so concerned about it.

The car pulled up outside of John's ranch, Joseph and Evelyn climbing out for walking up to the front door. Joseph didn't knock before just opening the door and walking straight in. Evelyn followed him inside, looking around for John.

"Evelyn! Happy birthday!" John smiled brightly as he walked into the open lounge, walking straight up to Evelyn and pulling her into a friendly hug which she happily returned. "I know it was yesterday but it's the thought that counts, right?" he asked with a smile as he pulled away from her.

"Definitely" Evelyn chuckled as she stepped back from the hug, standing by Joseph's side.

"How are you brother?" Joseph asked his younger brother.

"Good. Oh, Faith and Jacob are in the kitchen, I shouldn't leave them alone for too long. You two can wait in the dining room"

Joseph and Evelyn nodded as John hurried back towards the kitchen, making Evelyn laugh softly to herself. Joseph placed his hand on her back as he led her into the dining room.

The dining room was decorated similarly to the rest of the ranch. The dining table was big enough to seat six, one on each end and two on either side. In the centre of the table was a glass vase filled with white lilies, something that Evelyn knew wasn't there yesterday.

Before Evelyn or Joseph could say or do anything, the three other Seed siblings walked into the room. The pair turned to them with smiles on their faces.

"Happy birthday, Evelyn" Jacob nodded at the young woman.

"Thank you, Jacob" Evelyn nodded back with a genuine smile. Jacob was almost amused by her, even when he was dismissive or could be considered rude, she was always unaffected by him.

Faith smiled brightly as she walked over to Evelyn, wrapping her arms around the other woman. "Happy birthday, Evelyn" she said cheerfully.

"Thanks, Faith" Evelyn chuckled slightly as she hugged the other woman back, growing fond of Faith's affectionate and cheerful personality. Faith always made her feel welcome even if they weren't particularly close.