As the old adage goes, time waits for no one.
Before I knew it, the few days I had left had expired, and Althea's birthday was already here. I had prepared everything that I could for this special day, and yet, I'd felt that it wasn't enough. If only I wasn't so absent-minded and planned ahead of time…
Still, there was no time for regrets. Now that Althea's birthday was upon us, I could only hope that the preparations I did were enough to satisfy my girlfriend.
Pouncing back and forth in the kitchen, I waited patiently for the promised time to come. I looked up at the clock, and it was barely eleven. Usually, Althea would have arrived a few hours before so that we could have our daily exercise session.
However, it didn't feel right to exercise on Althea's special day. Particularly since the girl was mostly accompanying me rather than doing it of her own volition.
Thus, I told Althea that she could come a little later today, giving me enough time to prepare the surprises I had in store.
Okay, I have the food ready… The gifts are already wrapped… All that's left is for Althea to enter.
Urgh… When was the last time I'd felt this nervous? Probably during my high school valedictorian speech. No, I think I was more worried the day I found out that I'd gotten my scholarship.
It doesn't matter.
I have to compose myself before Althea arrives. Steeling my nerves, I bounced up and down while taking in deep breaths until finally… The familiar beeps on my front door rung in my ears.
"... Desir, I'm coming in," Althea announced her entry shyly.
There was a faint apprehension in her voice, probably since it was her birthday and I'd told her that she was in for a surprise. I'd purposely left out details about her celebration just because I wanted to stun her into happiness. And well… Here goes my first move.
"Welcome back, Princess."
"D-Desir?"
The moment I revealed myself from the kitchen, the young girl froze still. It felt like she had become one with nature, turning into a tree itself with her rooted legs and gouging fish eyes that never seemed to blink. I knew what caused that change in her, but I couldn't help but smile teasingly.
"What's wrong?"
"D-Desir… W-What are you wearing?"
Acting ignorant, I looked down at my fully buttoned up three-piece suit and brushed it with my white gloves. The black tailcoat that I was wearing had been creased perfectly, and so was the black vest that hid within. The only thing that might be wanting was the black tie, which I had little experience in wearing.
Well, it wasn't every day that I got to dress in a butler's uniform.
"To serve my lady, I must wear the appropriate attire, no?"
"A-Appropriate? Y-You mean this butler uniform..."
"Of course," I continued role-playing with a cheeky grin. "I am your servant for today, my lady. At least until your friends arrive in the evening. As much as I live to serve, I doubt that you would want others to see me in this uniform, right?"
"... That's right."
Haha, the fish had taken the bait. I knew how much Althea loved to monopolise me, and I played that to my advantage. At the very least, when Len and Sienna arrived, later on, they wouldn't laugh their heads off after seeing my garments.
"Well, then the first order of business."
I walked over and stood right in front of Althea. The girl shot me a confused look, cutely tilting her head like a curious puppy. Seriously… Why the hell are you so cute?
No, stay focused on the task at hand!
Using one hand, I gripped Althea's shoulders, and I went under her knees with the other. In one fell swoop, I lifted the lady up the ground and an adorable yelp screeched out from Althea's smallmouth.
"D-Desir? What are you doing?"
"It's a crime for the birthday girl to exert effort on her special day. So, I've arranged a courier service that will ferry you around the house."
"... I-I'm not a baby, you know?"
"My apologies! I didn't mean to offend! Should I put you down then?"
"N-No, y-you don't have to do that."
"Then, should I ask someone else to carry you instead?"
"T-This! Desir, stop bullying me! You know what I mean!"
There wasn't any rejection on my girlfriend's part. Her face was flushed red and steaming like a boiled octopus, but it wasn't because she hated my actions. Rather, I knew that Althea loved my spontaneous princess carry. She was just too embarrassed to verbalise it.
Hiding my chuckle, I nodded: "Of course, Princess. I live to serve."
"Damn it, Desir… Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"
Althea lightly admonished me, but the girl showed no signs of resistance. Instead, she wrapped her hands around my neck and shifted her body to the most comfortable position in my arms. Goodness, how are you this adorable?
Mentally laughing, I carried Althea to the living room and gently settled her down on the couch. There was a tinge of regret as she separated from me, but it was soon replaced with a childlike curiosity.
Althea knew my apartment at the back of her hand. Heck, even if all the lights were off on a dark, rainy night, she would probably be able to find her way around without banging into anything. So, when she saw the foreign camera above my living room television, her face cramped up.
"Desir, what's that?"
"Your first gift," I smiled.
I turned on the television and quickly switched to the setting I've prepared. Very quickly, the camera turned on, and a tracking feature was shown on screen. A yellow outline appeared, and it began calibrating my frame like a good artificial intelligence should. However, before it could complete its calculations, I tapped on it a few times and turned to the curious girl on the couch.
"Althea, could you please stand in frame?"
"L-Like this?"
Althea followed my instructions faithfully and stood in the centre of the camera. The tracking system adjusted accordingly, and a yellow outline encompassed the young girl almost instantaneously. After a few short seconds, the AI had finished its calculations, and a different user interface came to view.
Several outfits appeared on the right and left of the screen. There were sundresses, cocktail dresses, shirts and jeans… The list was endless.
However, Althea still looked confused about this function. And thus, I playfully chose a random dress and dragged it onto the yellow outline.
Immediately after, the dress appeared on Althea's 'body' on the screen. It fit her so well that one might mistake her for looking into the mirror. But rather than actually possessing the dress in real life, it was just an image that could be switched on the fly.
"W-What's this?!"
"An augmented reality outfit system," I explained calmly. "You can choose whatever outfits you want and try it with a click of a button. You can try all sorts of styles, dresses, shorts, jeans, shirts, blouses… You name it, and you can try it."
"T-This… I-I've never heard of such a wonderful thing before!!!"
"Haha, it's actually on the market already. It's just that the system is still a little clunky, and the selection is limited. However, in the future, fashion companies might roll out their new catalogue here so that the users can try them before they buy their products."
"Really?!"
Althea emerald eyes burst out with joy. Her face beamed brightly, and her hands were clasped together in prayer. It was natural that she was this elated. While Althea loved shopping for new clothes, constantly changing and trying on new outfits was burdensome. Not just that, most of her shopping now was done online, where she couldn't try the clothes before buying them.
This system would solve two of the modern woman's hatred of shopping in one fell swoop. Althea didn't need to spend hours changing, and with one click of the button, she could see if the product she wanted suited her or not.
"Thank you, Desir! This is the best gift ever!"
"Don't thank me just yet," I shifted my index finger before Althea could leap into my arms. "This is just the beginning."
"There's more?!"
"Of course there is."
It wouldn't be the best birthday that Althea ever had if we were done with just one gift, right? I looked up at the clock, and there was still an hour till noon. Len, Sienna and Grace would come later in the afternoon, so I guess it would be fine for an early lunch.
"Come here, Princess."
Once more, I brought Althea into my arms and shifted her into a princess carry. This time, Althea willingly came into my arms as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Weren't you just resisting getting carried? Hiding my laughter, I brought her to my kitchen island and seated her comfortably down on the chair.
Following that, I walked into the kitchen and brought over the pot that had recently been boiling. In preparation for tonight's birthday party, I had been busy preparing all sorts of dishes. However, this one was probably the one I handled with the most care out of all of them.
After preparing the bowls and spoons, I lifted up the pot lid and revealed its delicious contents.
"This is!"
"Haha, do you remember?"
"Of course I do! How could I forget?!"
I chuckled at Althea's outpour of emotion. Pulling a ladle, I poured the sweet-smelling congee into the two bowls I'd prepared and pushed one of them in front of Althea.
"I prepared something light for lunch since we're going to have a heavy dinner. I hope you won't mind."
"How would I mind?!" Althea grinned from ear to ear, her face showing signs of absolute bliss. In my opinion, she was much happier about this bowl of porridge rather than the augmented reality gift.
Putting one spoonful in her mouth, the girl relaxed and heaved: "Ah, this takes me back."
"Careful, it's hot."
"... Even if it scalds my tongue, I'll finish the whole pot."
"Haha, you should refrain from that. You should save some space for dinner."
"Even so," Althea smiled so brightly that I'd mistaken her face for the sun itself. "This is the first meal you've ever made for me. Of course, I must savour it."
That's right. This Chicken-Abalone Congee was the first-ever meal that I'd given to Althea. To us, this meal wasn't just a mixture of ingredients or a means to fill our stomachs. It was the starting point of our relationship.
"Hehe, has the taste changed?"
"... A little."
"Oh?"
That was surprising. I had been making Chicken-Abalone Porridge for years now, and making it was practically ingrained in my subconscious. For there to be a change in taste… Were the ingredients I used of different quality?
"... It tastes far better now."
"How so?"
"I can feel the tenderness and love that you've made it with."
"..."
This lass… How can she say such embarrassing things with a straight face?
"Before, it tasted like an ordinary delicious meal. Now, however, it feels like a meal that a husband would make for his wife. This taste… I've never had it before."
"Husband, huh?" I could feel my face heating up. No, I can't be dragged into Althea's pace! I have to regain the reins. "Are we already skipping to that level?"
"I-I mean figuratively speaking!" As expected, Althea bashfully looked away the moment I called her out on her statement. "It just tastes that way; I didn't mean that we're already husband and wife!"
"So, you don't want to marry me?"
"T-That's not what I mean! I-I meant..."
"Haha, it's fine."
I laughed and walked over to Althea. Pulling her little head into my abdomen, I gently caressed her head to calm her pulsating heart rate. "I'm just pulling your leg."
"D-Desir!" Exasperated, Althea shyly nudged on my chest with her tiny fists. "You need to stop this habit of always teasing me."
"Haha, sorry! Sorry!"
I apologised, but I didn't really mean to stop. I mean, how could anyone stop teasing this little creature when she gives such adorable responses? Still, I had to do something to appease Althea, lest she pouts for the rest of the day.
"To make amends..." I brought my chair next to Althea's and took the spoon from her bowl. Taking up a nice, warm spoonful, I gently blew on the congee before bringing it to her face.
"Why don't I feed you, Princess?"
"D-Desir, you..."
Blushing, the girl was unable to give a full answer. Althea looked away from me, her eyes shifting between the spoon in my hands and the bowl in front of her. It wasn't long until she finally turned towards me and said:
"I-I'll leave it to you."