#or he comes back to a party popper exploding in his face with the banner Congrats on your marriage!

[lokh]

WAIT SHUROS DAD SAID HE WANTED HIM TO BRING SOMETHING BACK INTERESTING.... AND WHO IS MORE INTERESTING THAN LAIOS....

[ericsonclan]

Happy Birthday, Louis!

Summary: Everybody at Ericson's Diner celebrates Louis' birthday <3

Read on A03: 

It was a fairly normal morning for Louis as he got ready to head to work. A thoughtful text from Clementine, a quirky e-card from Marlon and a brief text from Violet were the only things that distinguished this morning from all the others as being special. It was his birthday; he was 23 now. As he drove toward Ericson’s Diner, Liszt’s Transcendental Études playing in the background, he wondered if anything special would happen at work. Violet and Clementine would likely have some sort of small presents to give him and the rest of the staff would congratulate him. Maybe Omar would bake a cake that they could leave in the break room for the staff to enjoy whenever they had a moment. Then he’d probably do some sort of movie night at Violet and Prisha’s place or go out to dinner with Clementine. They were sure to have fun.

A ding came from Louis’ phone, causing him to glance over to where it lay on the passenger seat. His father had wired $500 to his bank account. It was his go-to every year at Louis’ birthday. When Louis was younger his father would give him whatever the latest trending piece of technology was. Looking back, Louis’ figured he assigned an office grunt to find an appropriate gift each year, though Louis had been too young to realize it at the time. The parties his parents threw had always been elaborate, but after their divorce things changed greatly. The parties were still thrown, but it was clear to Louis that his father simply used the festivities as an alternate venue for his business deals. Perhaps that had always been the case, but without his mother around to attend to the actual celebrations after the first few birthdays she flew out for, Louis noticed it all the more. Eventually he told his father he had no more interest in birthday parties and simply wanted to celebrate in his own way with his friends. After that the automatic money transfers began. A gift from his mother arrived at his doorstep each year, always something expensive with a trite greeting card attached to it.

Louis shook his head roughly, trying to banish the gloomier thoughts he had somehow slipped into. This day wasn’t about his parents or any lingering desire for their approval he somehow still clung to. It was about his friends, the ones who’d always stuck by his side. Growing up that had been Violet, Marlon and Mitch. Now there were so many more he held dear. With two years as the co-owner of Ericson’s Diner under his belt, Louis felt that this year finally felt like one worth celebrating.

Approaching the restaurant, Louis was surprised to see a notice taped to the front entrance door. He paused to read. It said: Today is the birthday of the founder of Ericson’s Diner, Louis Mason! Because of this, the restaurant’s hours have been changed today in order to give our staff time to celebrate. Our hours of operation will be 12 PM to 12 AM. Thank you. Who had put this up? He hadn’t been notified of any schedule change. Did that mean… was there going to be a party? Louis leaned over to try to peek through the windows, but all the blinds were still closed. It looked dark in there. It was probably just Omar and Ruby here so far, doing kitchen prep in the back. Louis tried the front door. Still locked. He was the first here to open up the front of the diner. Turning the key in the lock, Louis stepped inside and turned on the lights.

“SURPRISE!” The room literally exploded as confetti poppers went off all around the restaurant. Staff members jumped out from every hiding place imaginable: behind the bar, underneath the tables, inside the supply closet. Louis took a staggered step back in surprise, unable to believe his eyes. Every member of the staff was here, even people that didn’t have shifts that day. Who had put this all together? His eyes caught Clementine’s. She had hopped over the bar to stand in front of it, a warm, proud smile on her face. Stepping forward, she gave him a quick kiss.

“Happy birthday, Louis,”

“Clem, did you do all this?” Louis’ eyes scanned the restaurant, realizing just how much work had gone into this surprise. Every inch of Ericson’s Diner was decked out in balloons, banners, streamers and all sorts of other birthday paraphernalia. “Guys, wow… this is amazing!”

“Vi and I did most of the coordinating,” Clementine motioned to Violet who was leaning against the closet door, a subtle smirk on her face. “But everyone helped with setup. We actually did most of it last night, decorating after you went home,”

“Last night? But I didn’t head out till after midnight. How long did you guys stay up doing this?”

“Nothing’s too good for my best friend,” Marlon declared, walking forward and wrapping Louis in a tight hug. The two patted each other on the back before separating. “Had to make sure we made it the best birthday possible. You deserve it, Lou,”

Louis felt himself getting a little misty-eyed at the sentiment.

“So,” Prisha said from the back of the bar, “What do you want to start with first? Presents? Toasts? Cake?”

Willy, AJ and Tenn began bouncing with excitement atop one of the booths at the prospect of dessert first. “Cake! Cake! Cake!”

“You heard the boys!” Louis said with a chuckle, lifting a hand dramatically. “Bring on the cake!”

The decision made, Omar and Ruby hurried back to the kitchen to retrieve the cake. Instead of returning with the tin that Louis expected, Omar emerged with a giant pizza pan in his hands. He laid down his creation with a proud smile. “I decided to go in a different direction for your ‘cake’ this year. I know how much you like pizza buffets, so I thought I’d adapt a classic and make you a dessert pizza,”

“Oh my god,” Louis looked at the delicacy in awe. Chunks of cinnamon sugar covered a crust swirled in endless layers of icing. He had never seen such a massive dessert pizza pie. It looked delicious. “This is amazing!”

“Go ahead and dig in, y’all!” Ruby declared, bringing forth a pizza pan of her own. “We made plenty!”

Everyone eagerly tucked in, eating slice after slice of the sweet, melt-in-your-mouth goodness of the dessert pizzas. Ruby and Omar kept bringing more and more out, enabling no one to feel guilty as they indulged in slice after slice of the delicious pizza. Louis couldn’t believe how good it was: warm and gooey with a depth of flavor that kept him coming back for more. Before he even realized it he’d eaten four slices.

“Alright, guys!” Clementine waved her arms to get everyone’s attention. “Before we all get too stuffed to do anything else, let’s move on to the games. First off, the piñata!”

“Piñata?” Louis asked in surprise.

Mitch and Prisha shared a look. Reaching below the counter, Prisha lifted up the piñata, clearly already chockfull of candy. “Mitch and I made it out of papier-mâché ourselves so if you spot any white flecks in our hair, that’s flour,”

Louis squinted at the piñata. It was a pale yellow with green spackled all across it. “Wait a minute. Is that-”

“A cantaloupe,” Mitch interrupted, a mischievous grin on his face. “Figured there’s nothing you’d enjoy smashing to oblivion more,”

“That’s brilliant. Let’s do this!”

Once the piñata was set up in the middle of the room, Louis was given the honor of whacking it first. Having been blindfolded and spun around three times, he wandered in confusion for a moment, guided back by the cheered encouragement of his friends to give the cantaloupe a mighty hit. It didn’t break yet though. Prisha and Mitch had put plenty of layers onto the piñata to ensure everyone got a turn. The results of people’s swings varied. Clementine seemed unfazed by the spinning, making a beeline to the piñata that had some doubting the blindfold’s efficacy. Violet on the other hand ended up whacking Mitch in the gut with the bat, an action she swore was an innocent mistake. When the piñata finally cracked thanks to a particularly hard hit from Minnie, everyone rushed forward to grab as much candy as possible, stuffing their pockets and faces with as much as they could hold.

Clem and Violet had planned tons of party games. Musical Chairs came next, a heated match that saw Louis and Aasim vying for the final spot. In the end Louis fell just short of the final chair, sitting on Aasim’s lap instead to everyone’s amusement. Sophie and Tenn had drawn their own version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey, titled instead Pin the Louis on the Piano. The blindfold came back out and everyone was about as successful with it as they’d been with the piñata. Willy ended up totally lost, pinning the doodle of Louis to Marlon’s leg instead. In the end Prisha got the closest with mini Louis sitting almost perfectly atop the piano bench. Pass the Parcel was next on the agenda. Marlon and Aasim had worked on this one together, wrapping the package in countless layers of newspaper. As each layer was unfolded and mini prizes discovered, it was obvious who had done each layer. Aasim’s were tidy and refined while Marlon’s looked like he’d mashed the newspaper around till it fit. Either way the system worked. Brody was the final winner, opening the box at the center of the parcel which contained the grand prize: two movie tickets. She was flustered and ecstatic at the fact that she’d actually won.

The games all wrapped up, it was time for the presents, or rather, the present. Louis was dying of curiosity as the giant box was placed before him, decorated in cheery birthday wrapping paper and a myriad of ribbons. Clementine explained that the entire staff had chipped in for this gift: something they all hoped he would love. It took a pair of scissors and some elbow grease to fully open and unbox what was inside.

Once the gift was fully uncovered, Louis couldn’t believe his eyes. It was a miniature piano, fully functional and just as detailed as his grand piano at home. It was just like the piano that Schroeder played the Peanuts theme song too in the comics. Louis hadn’t even known such a thing really existed. Placing the piano on the ground, he sat crisscross before it and began to improv the Peanuts tune. Everybody applauded, as excited as he was to see the piano in use.

This time Louis wasn’t just misty-eyed. Actual tears were coming out. Brody ran into the back office to get him some tissues. After Louis had dried his eyes, he turned to his staff, feeling practically speechless. He still sat before the piano as all of them stood round him, their eyes bright and happy at witnessing his joy. “Wow, guys… this is more than I ever could have imagined. The decorations, the pizza, the games, you guys bought me a piano for crying out loud!” Louis wrapped his arms around the instrument in a hug, rocking back and forth giddily for a moment before setting it back down. “Seriously, I couldn’t ask for a better staff. You guys are the thing that makes Ericson’s Diner so great. I’m so thankful for each and every one of you. Here’s to another year of great memories,”

“Hear, hear!” Marlon exclaimed, stepping forward and placing a hand on Louis’ shoulder. “Let’s have three cheers for Louis! Hip hip!”

“Hooray!”

“Hip hip!”

“Hooray!

“Hip hip!”

“HOORAY!” The room burst into cheers, everyone applauding excitedly. It took a few minutes before things calmed down enough for Aasim to take the floor.

“Alright, everybody, that was a great party, but now it’s time to clean up! We’ve got one hour till we open. Let’s get to work!”

Everyone scattered, moving to take down decorations and prep for the opening. Louis was about to pitch in when he felt a hand tugging his shoulder. He turned to see Clementine smiling at him. “I have a gift for you of my own,” She held out her present. Louis quickly unwrapped it. He felt his heart leap as he saw what lay inside. It was a picture frame, piano themed with detailed keys and musical notes running all along the edges. Truly beautiful. The accompanying picture was one of him and Clementine at the diner. It was one Louis didn’t recognize. The two of them were talking beside the door that led to the kitchen. Both of them were smiling, seemingly unaware that a photo was being taken.

“Brody took that,” Clementine explained. “It was taken on her phone and in secret so that’s why it’s a bit blurry. It was actually before we started dating, back when we were both sweet on each other but didn’t realize. She showed it to me once to prove that I was lying to myself if I thought you didn’t feel the same way. I figured it was a picture that deserved to be framed,”

“Definitely. Clem…” Louis felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest as he looked at his girlfriend. “I’m the luckiest guy in the world to have you by my side,” “The feeling’s mutual,” Clementine grinned before going up on her tiptoes for a kiss. Louis could still taste the sugar on her lips from the dessert pizzas. They pulled apart slowly, savoring the moment. Clementine rocked back onto the balls of her feet happily. “Marlon had to run make a delivery, but he told me to let you know that his gift to you is gonna be a paintball day so we all have that to look forward to. Violet has a gift for you too. I think she’s waiting in the break room,”

“Alright,” Louis took Clementine’s hand in his, squeezing it softly. “I love you,”

“Love you too,” They met for another kiss before Clementine playfully pushed him back. “Now go! You don’t want to keep Violet waiting,”

“Alright, alright!” Louis hurried over to the break room.

He found Violet inside, standing beside the table. A large scrapbook lay atop it. “Sorry I forgot to wrap it,” Violet said, motioning toward the scrapbook. “I got all caught up in organizing the party and shit and by the time I remembered it was too late to go buy any wrapping paper,”

“That’s fine. Should I?” Louis motioned toward a nearby chair.

“Yeah, go ahead. Sit down and read it. Not all of it, but… you get what I mean,” Violet grabbed her arm self-consciously, looking away. Louis sat down and opened up the scrapbook. On the first page was a letter dated 2004. It was one he had written to Violet.

Dear Violet, I hope you’re enjoying being back home. Some days I sort of miss the school and you and Mitch. Do you have any summer plans? We should meet up! Your friend, Louis

On the following page was the letter Violet had written him in response.

Hi Louis, Home sucks. The school was better. I have no summer plans. It would be fun to hang out. - Violet

Louis remembered receiving that letter in the mail. He’d been worried that once he and Violet left the school that they’d fall completely out of touch. Sending that first letter felt like throwing a message into the void; he wasn’t sure if she’d even respond. But Violet had written back and continued to write back to each and every letter he wrote. The scrapbook’s pages were full of all the letters they’d ever sent back and forth to each other from that day onward, organized chronologically from start to finish.

“They’re copies, not the originals,” Violet explained. “I had all the ones you sent me and Clem helped me figure out where you kept the ones I sent you. I made photocopies of all of them so that way you could hold onto your letters and… I could hold onto mine,” Her voice grew soft at that last part.

“Viiiii,” Louis looked up at his best friend, his eyes watery once more. “This is beautiful. I can’t believe you did all this!”

Violet shrugged. “I just wanted to say thanks, I guess, for always sticking by me. I’m where I am today ‘cause of you. So… thanks,”

Louis couldn’t think of anything else to say. Instead he settled for enveloping Violet in a hug, wrapping his arms tightly round her despite her half-hearted protests. When Violet’s arms came round his back, he knew she was happy with the hug too. The two stood in silence for a few moments, enjoying the hug. “Thank you, Vi,” Louis whispered, “For making this the best birthday ever,” He could just make out the smallest smile upon Violet’s face at his words.

“Happy birthday, Louis,”

[bonbonswirl-blog]

HBD

Toony was walking in through the front door to in a seemingly empty house and a dark room. And for some reason, he entered it, scraping his hand against the wall to find a single switch to the lights while checking in the darkness for a sign of a person. The room couldnt had been any darker. Suddenly All the lights come to life and the room lit up, with blondie jumping and out shouting "Happy Birthday Creator!!!" In toony face, marching in cheerfully. "So!! Did you change your hair? or maybe its just your eyes? Either way you just lit up the room!" "SURPRISE!!!". The 'host' watched as party poppers exploded everywhere with its Confetti spranging through the air, leaping towards the ceiling and landing back onto the floor, the boy could see himself disappearing beneath the streamers. Every other friend of the studio workers crept in from the inside, with no one left behind. Reeking with enthusiasm and delight. Somehow the grumby workers tried their best to manage pulling out some kind of an awkward smile to show that they are pleased to have a part in this occasion, though samuel wasnt counted in. Behind them was a trailed mass of gay balloons, jostling in the brilliant rays. Colorful Neon lights flashed everywhere. coloured banners were draped on the top of each door. The ceiling decorated with paper buntings, bells and stars. Some balloons were also hung all over. "Doing that was a great fun! Though some of the balloons bursted while blowing and others refused to stick to the wall! But we managed to do it!" Blondie said proudly. It seemed like everything was only waiting for toony to come, he couldnt notice his own birthday looming on the horizon.

Jim Came all the way Introducing a big dreamy and sophisticated cake in his hands, it was enough to cover every person around the house. Anything on it was ediable. sprinkled with sugar dust. Iced with delecious frosting, adorned with a single sugary cat, decorated with fluffy marshmallows, drizzled on top with luscious caramel sauce. A number of Candles dipped in the cold frosting of the still burning toasted hot surface. Twinkling like stars, shining brilliant gold, As it is the sunlight striking the boy soft hair, illuminating his profile. The buttery aroma wafted tantalisingly under the nose, similar to the cartoonish beckoning finger of steam you would often see on TV, maybe thats because they are inside a cartoon? Who knows? But who cares! Gratefully, the cake was placed in a lovely platter on the table next to a knife having a bow tied to it. "Those candles are waiting to be blown out by you, birthday boy!" Toony glanced around once more and saw A stack of unopened presents stood in the corner of the room wrapped in smooth shiny wrapping paper wrre noticable. A silk bow had been carefully tied arount each parcel. He let his eyes roam freely over every stitch so lovingly made.

Jeff began blowing bubbles, floating in the air and followed by balloons drifting around aimlessly on the floor among the remains of the confetti.

Blondie glanced up at the part guest and flashed him his sweet smile. His loud voice shot through the air as he threw himself into singing a happy birthday song, in which everyone joyously joined in. Celebration pulling them in and wouldnt let go. "Oh ya! toony! We were planing to get a happy clown for ya! But we couldnt find one! We had to make one ourselves! Did ya know samuel was going to offer playing the role?" laughter rang in ears and wouldnt seem to stop. "Haha, not funny." And Even the celebrated boy "I am an adult!" badge couldnt outshine his smile.

"Toony!! Have another wonderful year of good health, good friends and family!"

Apparently, he is twenty one today, Who would have thought he would make it this far? Happy Birthday Toony!!!

ALL THE CHARACTERS BELONG TO @brueklynn I OWN NOTHING

Ignore this guys This is one of my stupid fanfics just take it as a..joke or smth ok? XD also wish our boy a happy birthday everyone!

[samsylviasmoustache]

So have some self-indulgent GLOW fanfic!!

The Birthday Paradox

In a room of just 23 people, the odds of 2 people sharing a birthday are 50:50... 

“Okay, so.” Sam puts his hands down flat on the scored wood of his stolen desk. “Friday night after the show we’ll—”

“Oh, we can’t do Friday,” says Debbie.

He scowls up at her. “Why the fuck not?”

“It’s, uh, Ruth’s birthday.”

“Oh.”

Silence reigns for an awkward thirty seconds. Debbie’s immaculate eyebrows arch. “We could do Saturday instead?”

“Right. Sure. Yeah.”

He roots about his papers, discomforted, until she rolls her eyes and asks the obvious question.  

“Are you… okay?”

It’s not the kind of thing they have to ask very often, both of them usually perfectly transparent to the other. Like a pair of housecats. Just about able to tolerate being in the same room, and good at giving the other space when they come in hackles raised. Their claws generally reserved for other people. Which is probably just as well, given the amount of fur that would fly should they ever turn on one another.  

“I’m fine,” he says, too quickly. He makes the mistake of catching her eye and sighs. “It’s her actual birthday on Friday?”

“Don’t you have all of our birthdates written down on those consent forms you made us sign?”

“I’m not Klaus fucking Kinski, alright? I don’t remember that shit.”

“Who?”

“It doesn’t matter. Forget I asked.” He tries to handwave her confusion away, but she’s damned if she’ll be dismissed like that by him.

“Fine. Yes, it’s her actual birthday on Friday. Are you…what? Wanting to buy her a present?” If she sounds incredulous it’s because she is. The idea of Sam giving enough of a shit about anybody else to go and buy a gift is laughably ludicrous.

“No.”

“Well, what then?”

“Jesus Christ. Will you just—? I mean, can you not—?” He stutters to a stop, scowling; realising he’s going to have to spill. “Because it’s my fucking birthday, too. Alright? Are you happy now?”

She blinks. Of course, Sam must have birthdays. He moves through linear time like the rest of them, despite his efforts to remain firmly stuck in his Seventies heyday. It’s just hard to think of him in the same context as cake and candles.

“Oh.”

He is shaking his head. “Don’t, don’t fucking tell—”

“I won’t. Any anyway, nobody’s going to care.” It comes out more harshly than she intends; she can see it stings from the sudden droop of his moustache. “I just mean: we’re all too old to give a shit about birthdays. Apart from Jenny.”

“Right,” he says, flatly. “We done?”  

“I will… make the arrangements for Saturday,”

“Great. You do that.” He’s making a show of taking out his cigarettes rather than look at her.

“Fine,” she says, determined to have the last word.

He slides open the door to his balcony, fumbling for the carton in his shirt pocket again. It’s a real Vegas sunset outside, the sky a lurid pink. He pulls out his lighter and hears the chirrup.

“Not this again,” he says, cigarette wobbling. The little white cat jumps down onto the concrete from the balcony above, winding herself around his ankles. Against his better instincts he pets the thing, and she starts purring like a thundercloud.

He sighs. It’s a sad fucking thing to have to admit, but it feels nice there’s something in the world that’s glad to see him.

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” he says, rubbing his thumb across her little bullet head. Somehow, she purrs even louder; batting at his hands when he stops. “Yeah, yeah...”

She tries to run inside when he’s finished his smoke, nosing at the door as he puts his hand on the glass. “Hey, no.” She chirrups up at him again, intentions clear. “No. I don’t want fucking fleas. Okay?”

Purr-purr.

He sighs again. But he’s always a sucker for a woman who won’t take no for an answer.  

“Hey.”

He looks up from his seat on the bleachers, half-watching Cherry and Carmen plan a match. “Oh, hi Ray. How’s things?”

“Good, man, good. A little bird told me tomorrow is an important day for you.”

Sam groans. “Was this bird named Debbie?”

“I can’t reveal my sources.” He smooths down his goatee. “Is it a big one?”

“Oh, no. But thanks for flattering me.”

Ray grins. “You have plans?”

“Ah,” he squirms, “I mean, it’s a Friday night in Vegas, right? If you can’t find a good time you’re just not looking hard enough.”

Ray purses his lips. “Sure, but it’s a birthday. You’re not inviting friends into town? Or family?”

He swallows. “Well, you know, they’re pretty busy with – with school and shit.” It sounds pathetic, Ray looking at him with something like sympathy in his eyes. And he can’t stand being pitied like this. Fucking Debbie. Why she couldn’t just keep her mouth shut—

“Well, I’ve been waiting to invite you to the monthly poker night,” Ray continues, oblivious. “Sounds like this Friday’s a good fit.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Eleven o’clock in the Sinatra Suite. Unless, you know, your girls decide to take you out instead.”

“Ha,” he snorts, “I fucking doubt it. Thanks, man.”

“Don’t thank me. It’s a fifty dollar buy-in and last time I barely made it out with my shirt.”

Sam bares his teeth in something like a grin. “Sounds great,” he lies.  

Something sharp bites into his neck, dragging him up from the depths of dreamless sleep with a yelp—  

It’s the cat. Curled on his chest, digging her claws into him for reasons known only to herself. “Ow!” he says, grabbing hold of her to stop her doing it again. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

She merely purrs in response, as if this is all perfectly normal; trying to lick his face with her rasp of a tongue.  

“Jesus Christ...” He wriggles upright, finding his cigarettes on the night stand, lighting one. It’s a little after five in the morning. Which means he is officially fifty-two years old.

It’s a funny thing, but the older he’s gotten, the more his thoughts turn to his mother on this day. After all, she was the one that put all the work in. He just turned up, fat-headed and late enough to make everything a real ordeal. Starting, it seems, as he was destined to go on.

The fat little cat curls into his side, as he finishes his cigarette and tries very hard not to cry.

The lighting box door opens, noiseless, and Ruth is framed in the lintel. “Hi,” she says. Still wearing Zoya’s face but dressed in a button-up shirt and jeans. The sight of her like that does something complicated to his chest.

“Hey,” he replies. “Happy birthday.”

She bites her lip and looks at her feet. Still, she’s smiling. “Thanks.”

“You have fun?”

“Mm-hm. Sheila has a contact at The Aladdin. We got to see all the animals.”

He raises his eyebrows. “Mm. Sounds great.”

“We’re all going for a drink. Do you… wanna come with us?”

No, if he’s honest. He’s sad and consumed with a horrible kind of nostalgia; thinking back to this day five years ago, fifteen and thirty. Counting all the ways he’s screwed things up for himself, lost every good thing he ever found.

But not Ruth. Not yet, anyway. Why not spend an hour or two in her company before he loses all his money in a poker game? There are worse presents he can give himself. “Sure,” he hears himself saying. “Which bar did you have in mind?”

“Oh, Ray said we could use the member’s one tonight.”

“Really?” Jenny’s party-planning skills are clearly better than he gave her credit for.

He follows Ruth down the stairs and sticky-carpeted corridor, to the door with the Members Only sign. She pushes it open and they are hit by a wave of noise: fourteen variations on “SURPRISE!” and a dozen party-poppers exploding at once, leaving them both covered in paper streamers.  

“What the fuck is this?” he says, stupidly. The home-made banners make it clear enough, one at either end of the long table loaded with party food. HAPPY BIRTHDAY RUTH says one. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAM says the other.

“Sorry man,” says Ray, coming over to pass him a glass of champagne. “I couldn’t stop them.”

“Jesus.” He shakes his head but takes the glass. “And no poker?”

“No poker,” confirms Ray. “But I did manage to get us some other entertainment…”

The doors at the back of the room open on those words, and a literal circus enters the room. Fire-eaters and jugglers, gymnasts with spangled hoops and spinning plates. He vaguely recognises some of them, performers from a show at their sister casino.

“Thanks,” he shouts over the din. “I guess.” He catches Ruth’s knowing gaze. “And you can stop that right now.”

She presses her lips together, compressing her smile. Eyelashes fluttering as she makes up her mind about something; he recognises the tell even if he has no idea what she’s debating internally—

“Happy birthday, Sam,” she says, and kisses him on the cheek.

And there are too many people in the room for him to do anything other than swallow the sudden lump in his throat; to hope the sudden heat in his face will be attributed to the fire-eaters.

“Yeah,” he manages. “As these things go, it’s not so bad.”