Shortly after we took off our shoes, we were greeted by a woman with flaxen colored hair.
Judging from her similarities to Amami-san, this person was probably her mom, Eri-san. Not only were their looks similar, the way they carried themselves were similar as well.
"Welcome and happy birthday, Umi-chan~ I cooked a lot of food for you today, so make yourself at home~"
"Thank you, Auntie. I keep troubling you every year, don't I?"
"It's fine, don't worry about it~ You're like a daughter to me after all~ Anyway, that boy is…"
"…Yes, hello, my name is Maehara Maki."
I took a step forward and introduced myself before Umi could introduce me. This reminded me of when I first visited Umi's house, so I felt really nervous.
"My, hello~ I'm Amami Eri. Lately, all I hear about from Yuu is about both Umi-chan and you, so I always wondered what kind of person you are."
"M-Mama?? What are you trying to tell him? Stop! It's embarrassing!!"
"Why are you embarrassed?~ He seems to be as kind as you described him."
After saying that, Eri-san got closer to me and touched my cheeks, arms and thighs.
"Hehehe, I see… You do have the qualities that Umi-chan would love. A little unreliable, straight forward, single-minded and you also have a lot of potential… You still need a little exercise though… And your fashion-sense is a bit… Well, Umi-chan will work that out…"
"U-Umm?"
"Mama! Sorry, Maki-kun, this is Mama's bad habit, she's always trying to check out everyone she meets for the first time, it's an occupational habit– Mama, stop groping him like that!"
"Oops. I'm sorry, ohoho~"
Amami-san's mom was kind but she seemed to have her own quirks. She was a former celebrity, but that didn't make her prideful and instead she had a really bright demeanor. Having her around the house seemed to be fun, but I could see it being a little annoying to deal with.
After she finished checking me out, we walked to the living room and as Umi entered, a few pops echoed from inside the living room and a shower of confetti fell on our heads.
"""Happy birthday!~"""
The sound came from the party crackers in Nitta-san, Nitori-san and Houjou-san's hands, who were standing right next to the door. Amami-san followed suit and popped out her own party cracker right after them.
"Happy birthday, Umi! I'm glad that we could celebrate your birthday again this year!"
"…Thank you, Yuu…"
This reminded me of the fiasco they had last year during the cultural festival. Thinking back, if they handled it incorrectly, this party wouldn't have happened.
I could see tears welling up on both of their eyes.
"Look at you two, being absorbed in your own world like that."
"Hey hey, count us in!"
"Eh? What is it? …Well, I don't understand but count me in too!"
Then the three girls who were watching the two jumped on them.
"It's cramped! Stop– Jeez, you guys are such brats…"
"Haha, we probably look like a giant steamed bun~"
Umi showed them a wry smile in response, but she didn't look unhappy, in contrast, Amami-san showed her bright smile.
Of course I wasn't brazen enough to join them, so I just stood there while watching them. Seeing them all looking so happy like this felt pleasant though.
"Okay, okay, that's enough. Everyone should quickly move to the table and eat! Aren't you all hungry?"
Eri-san clapped her hands. She told us to carry some dishes and plates of food to the large table in the living room.
Including Eri-san, there were seven people here, but the amount of food available was beyond what seven people could eat. There were several large pizzas and roasted chickens, and an ample amount of cola and milk in 4-liter bottles. God knows from where they got this much food.
"Okay, that's enough… There's no space to put the cake, huh? Well, whatever, we'll leave that for later… Now, let's open the presents first! I'll go first, okay? Here it is, Umi-chan. Sorry I bought you a cheap one this time."
"Woah, this watch is so cute… Thank you, Auntie!"
"Wait, Mama, why are you– Jeez! Umi, here's my present for you!"
"Okay okay… This is too big! Jeez… But, thank you, Yuu, I'm sure this would be great for cuddling~"
"Hehe, I knew that you'd like it!"
"As expected of our Yuu~"
Then, everyone else followed suit and gave Umi their gifts. Nitta-san gave her the accessory she showed me the other day and both Nitori-san and Houjou-san gave Umi bouquets of flowers.
Umi showed a happy smile while holding various gifts.
"Okay, this one is from me, Umi… Wait, why are you guys walking away?…"
"Hm? I don't know about the others, I'm just giving you some space, Rep~ What about you, Yuuchin?"
"I just don't want to be a third wheel, you get me, right, Mama?~"
"Nah, I'm just following you guys because it seems more fun this way~"
"…Jeez…"
When it was finally my turn, everyone except Umi and I immediately left the living room and observed us from the kitchen.
Apparently we tend to get caught up in our own world in parties like this, proven by our behavior on both Christmas, Valentine and White Day. It had been roughly three months since we first started dating, so we could understand what each other wanted easily, and to other people, it would look like we were absorbed in our own little world.
However, it wasn't like we didn't have any tact. There was no way that we would act like usual, especially since this was my first time visiting and I was in the presence of people I barely knew.
"…What's with that dirty grin, Umi?"
"Mm?~ No~thing~"
Umi was being herself, grinning at me for no reason.
Anyway, I had no idea what they were expecting from me, so I'll just do what I had to do.
"Well then, Umi."
"…Mm…"
"This is my present for you."
I took out a small box from my bag and presented it to Umi with both my hands.
"Um… Happy birthday, Umi. Thank you for everything you've done for me."
"Mm, likewise… Can I open it?"
"…Yeah…"
She took a glance at the small birthday card attached to the box. She muttered 'dummy' as she slowly unwrapped the box.
There was an accessory inside the box. A blue flower, made of metal.
"The coloring looks so pretty… Is this a hair accessory?"
"Yeah. The employee said you can use this whenever you're wearing a dress for a party."
I chose a present that she would only use once in a while.
It wasn't something like Nitta-san's present that she could use daily nor Amami-san's present that she could use as a hugging pillow.
It was a riskier choice. After all, if she didn't like it, she would end up tucking it away somewhere and it'd never see the light of day ever again.
However, I still chose this gift.
"I don't think this'll make a great present, but you know, when I imagine that you'll be wearing this… I think you'll look really pretty…"
I always thought that blue would go well with Umi. She lived up to her name after all. The ocean, depending on the lighting, could be crystal clear or so dark that you couldn't see the bottom of it. (T/N: Umi (海) means ocean or sea.)
Just like Umi who always showed me her various faces.
"Um… Anyway, that's that… I guess…"
"I see… So that's why you came back so late that day… Can I try it on now?"
"Of course, but I don't think it'll match your current outfit."
"Just imagine that I'm wearing a dress right now~"
"Fine."
I imagined Umi wearing the dress that she wore for the Christmas party while waiting for her to put the accessory on.
She attached it to her black hair while looking over the instructions, she straightened her posture and turned to face me.
"Um… How do I look?"
"…It isn't what I expected."
In fact, she looked even more beautiful than I imagined. The blue flower blended well with her lustrous black hair. The accessory itself was small, but its presence was enough to enhance the beauty of her hair.
"You look even prettier than I imagined, Umi."
I could feel everyone's hot gazes on me and that made my cheeks grow hotter and hotter by the second. I wasn't planning to act like an idiot couple in front of them, but I ended up doing it anyway.
"…Hehe, thank you, Maki… I'll treasure it forever…"
"I see… I'm glad…"
Well, I guess this was inevitable when it came to us.
The girl in front of me looked so cute as she was blushing furiously.
…She was Umi, my girlfriend, the cutest girl in the world.
"Sigh… Those two are amazing… So, are you telling me that those two are always like this, Yuu? If I were you, I would ship them off to a deserted island somewhere."
"Ahaha… But, Mama, look at how happy they look! I'm just happy that I could see their happy faces!"
"I feel like it's getting hotter here, why don't we turn the AC on now?"
"So Umi can make that kind of face…"
"Love is amazing, isn't it?"
After that, the party proceeded with the feast and eventually, the cake, but the girls (including Eri-san) wouldn't leave me alone and bombarded me with questions.
Overall, the party was fun, but I wanted to go home…
"Um, Umi?…"
"Yes?"
"You can take that off, you know?…"
"Nah~ I'll wear it for a bit longer."
"…If that's what makes you happy, fine…"
"Mhm… Ah, right, Maki."
"Yes?"
"…Do I really look good wearing this?"
"…Didn't you hear my praises earlier?"
"I want to hear it again."
"…Everyone is looking, you know?"
"One more time~"
"…Ugh…"
The other people inside the room grinned at us.
It felt embarrassing, but it was her birthday today…
Like planned, today, I'll spoil her as much as I can.
"…It suits you. You look pretty…'
"Hehe… Thank you, Maki~"
Then she leaped into my arms and buried her body in my embrace.
I'm happy that she looked happy, but at the same time, I felt like I would die from the embarrassment.