Growing up, it was simply easier for her family if Daiane feigned apathy about her birthday, if she acted as if the day were no big deal. At least now at her big age of nineteen, that was true, but back then it was just a little girl trying to make things even the slightest bit easier for her family. Sometimes she wished that someone had seen through that smiling facade she’d created for herself, realized that she was just a child and made sure that she knew she was just a child, and wasn’t expected to be managing people like that… but they were occupied with other things, like Aline’s death to Papi’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis… she was fine, by comparison. She had a family who loved her, she was happy, healthy… really, she had nothing to complain about.
And she never did. Complain, that is.
Her birthday made its annual appearance on the twenty-sixth, a day that often snuck up beneath her notice. Though she didn’t care much for the actual day, she did like what its arrival brought: her family. Luciano stopped by with his husband, Gio, whom she thought of as more of a brother than a brother-in-law—her sisters thought the same, so it wasn’t only because they’d been in a relationship for longer than Dai had even been alive. Their kids came along too, Mila and the baby—which was great because she especially loved babies. Though she wished she could have a baby sibling rather than being the baby, it was almost better being the aunt, as she didn’t have to have the baby 24/7 and she can pass him off if/when he started crying. Auntiehood was pretty superior to motherhood, she was thinking.
Nadalia managed to get a day off, and she hung around the house all day. She was always busy nowadays with her residency, and before that she was busy with med school—all in all, free time was hard to come by for Dai’s eldest sister, and so it meant a lot to her that she came over to spend it with her. Now, Andressa on the other hand… not even a birthday text from her, which wasn’t surprising considering the silent treatment her sister was giving her but… still. She’s been trying with her, but nothing. And it really, really hurt to know how unreceptive Essie was to her efforts.
It was whatever though, the day was still pretty good despite the snub, and the good feelings still lingered even two days later. It was with this high-spirited feeling that she approached Reuben just before lunch, the kidnapper this time as she pulled him away from whatever he was engaged in with the necessary apologies and whatnot. “Ru,” she started once it was just them two, “how would you feel about taking a half-day? 'Cause I think we should take one—go out and celebrate our birthdays at that trampoline park.” Her eyes were sparkling, practically, as she voiced her thoughts to him. “Like I was thinking about it during math and like, one, we haven’t gone out for our birthdays yet and two, wouldn’t it be nice to just, bounce?” Underneath the surface happiness laid a ball of stress, one that had only been amplified by her poor performance on her math test, and honestly, the break would be nice. Not to mention the fact that she loved spending time with Ruby. But she shrugged, her arm stretching across her chest to rub her other arm. “I don’t know, what do you think?”
@raviola hmmm okok