The Secrets of Confessions ✔️

Chapter 9: 22 Candles

"Wake up, sleepy head!" Mason whispers in my ear. I barely shift in bed, as Mason's hands rest on my shoulders.

It's way too early for me to deal with any form of human interaction. "Happy birthday, baby. I can't believe it. You're 22 years old. Get up. I made you breakfast. It's once in a blue moon that you can sit down and have a good breakfast with your family," he says, and with that, he gets up from the bed.

I roll over, rubbing my eyes, and ask, "What time is it?"

"9:30. I think you stayed up too late with Cody and Cole. That's why you're kind of tired. But you should get up. Sarah and I have a huge day planned for you."

I sit up in bed, while rubbing my eyes. "What kind of things?"

Mason frowns, and crosses his arms. "Now, that would ruin the surprise, baby. I don't know about you, but I hate ruined surprises. You'll see when you get up. Trust me, today's going to be awesome."

I smile, and with that, I throw the cover off and get out of bed. Because when Mason says that today's going to be awesome, then he never lets me down.

***

The kitchen feels warm and homey, which is a pleasant contrast to the gloomy San Jose weather right now. Sometimes, being a winter baby sucks, because it's so cold that if you step outside for three seconds, your face might freeze off.

But, today, it's warm, and I smell a hot breakfast waiting in the kitchen. I walk in, and Sarah is setting hot dhoklas on plates. She looks over at me, and then a huge smile appears on her face. "Happy birthday, baby!" she squeals, as she walks over to me.

Her arms spread in the expectations for a hug, to which I give her. Her arms tightly hug me, and she says, "I can't believe you're 22 already! Oh my goodness, I'm old. In just a few months, you'll be out on your own, working, possibly finding the love of your life and starting a family."

I roll my eyes a little bit, and say, "Oh, Sarah. I've got a long way to go."

She releases me, and says, "But it's still going to come so fast! If we've come from you being a hyper 5 year old to a mature, beautiful, 22 year old, then the future doesn't seem too far!" she says, and I smile.

She turns around, and says, "Mason made some food for you. Gujarati food too, straight from your mom's recipe book. Paired with some chutneys as well. Trust me, I think you're going to like it. Oh, and there's some chai as well. Mason knows how much you love traditional food."

"And I love it too. It's delicious." Mason comes waltzing down the steps, happily, already dressed and looking like he's going to go to a job interview. I smile, and then Mason races into the kitchen, muttering something in Arabic.

He turns to Sarah, and with that, he speaks to her in their mother tongues; Lebanese Arabic. He asks her a question in Arabic, and then she nods and replies back. I try to decipher what they're saying, but it's hard, especially when they talk fast and use a lot of slang.

Sarah nods, and with that, Mason brings over my plate and a cup of hot chai. I take it, along with some of the chutney he made, and bring it over to the table because I'm hungry. I sit down, and start to devour it, because there's nothing more satisfying than eating a hot breakfast that just smells so delicious as well.

Sarah sits down, with her cup of coffee, and says, "Did you shower yesterday night?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Okay, be ready in a few minutes. I'm taking you out."

"Where?"

"Again, I'm not ruining surprises, hun." She continues to sip her coffee, while I think about what we're going to do today. It could be shopping, going to get some food, or having a fun day in general. I don't know, but Sarah is always got a surprise up her sleeve, whether it be good or bad.