Danni bounced impatiently in her seat, the table in front of her decorated with small pieces of wrapping paper from the dessert she’d convinced Jenny to buy for her. She’d taken to tearing it into smaller and smaller pieces to keep her hands occupied. She’d already lost two pieces of cutlery and Mocha had taken the napkin away from her because her fiddling was catching in her peripheral vision and it was very hard to focus.
“Kiki, what are we still waiting for?” Jenny poked at the candles in the middle of the table, unlit because it was only 2 in the afternoon.
“Hime. She’s a few minutes late is all. Traffic is terrible anyway.” Just as she finished, a sleek black business car pulled up into a parking space just outside the picture windows. Hime climbed out of the passenger seat, making her way into the café, but everyone’s eyes widened when Dino stepped out of the driver’s side, adjusting his coat over what was obviously a new suit. They both stepped inside to curious glances from all the other patrons and joined the group of girls.
“Dino. I’m surprised you could make it,” Mocha greeted him, unfortunately seated on the other side of the table, so she couldn’t give him the usual hug.
“Well, Hime told me it was very important, and the meeting was concluding anyway.” He glanced around at everyone present, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. “What’s the problem then?”
“Chero’s not happy it’s Christmas, and we need to help her out,” Danni piped up, waving the table-cloth around. Kiki pushed her hands down with her own to stop her. Dino seemed about to sigh, probably regretting leaving a meeting early when it would definitely make him look bad in the long run, if anyone took it personally, but he refrained.
“I’m not sure I follow.”
“Chero doesn’t care. It’s like this whole holiday means nothing to her, but that’s the exact opposite of what it is,” Hime explained. “It’s not just a bad day, or a case of the doldrums or whatever you want to call it. She honestly doesn’t care and it’s not like her. You would know that,” she told him pointedly. Dino rubbed his forehead, letting out a long breath.
“Mio dio…”
“Yeah, it’s not good,” Jenny agreed, her head drooping. For a long moment, everyone was silent, but Dino jumped up with an exaggerated shout and a huge smile on his face.
“I got it!” He went to slap his hands down on the table, but it was in the middle of being upturned by his first outburst, so only his fingers caught the edge of the table and he was sent sprawling down to the ground. Mocha and Kiki clambered out of their seats, standing safely behind Danni and Jenny. Hime only hid her face in her hands. Dino made no move to get off the floor, embarrassed, but Hime and Jenny – who were closest – picked him up and let him sit down with some semblance of dignity. He cleared his throat and started over. “She would love a party, just for her. December is a time for so many celebrations, her birthday included, and a party would be the perfect idea.”
“But it can’t just be any old party then,” Kiki interjected, causing Dino’s smile to return again.
“Exactly. But I have a few ideas…”
