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Ben was running late.
He had only just found out that his girlfriend’s birthday was today, upon chatting with her best friend Rose. They’d barely been dating for ten months at this point, and for whatever reason, the topic of birthdays had never come up.
He left work early, debating between stopping by the bakery to purchase a premade cake or making his own. Feeling ambitious, he decided perhaps he'd make her one using his grandmother's old recipe.
Putting together the batter seemed simple enough, although he was confused about whether he should use baking soda or baking powder. When pouring the salt into the half teaspoon to measure, the lid popped off and half the contents of the salt shaker dumped in a mound on top of the flour and other ingredients.
Cursing aloud, he quickly scooped as much salt out as he could. He realized in the process he probably scooped out some of the sugar, too. He decided he didn't want to take any chances so he added in any extra two tablespoons of sugar. Nodding in satisfaction, he added in the wet ingredients, hoping it was okay to substitute olive oil for canola oil, cause oil was all the same, right? Plus, he was pretty sure that olive was the healthier choice…
He was impressed by how smooth the better was, despite it looking a little darker than he remembered. Then he realized he had a problem: he didn't own any cake pans. Not even a cookie sheet to make a narrow flat sheet cake.
Feeling defeated, he heaved a sigh, shoving aside the batter and turning off the oven. Bakery bought was probably better anyway. They were the professionals, after all. Let them do it.
20 minutes later, he walked out of the bakery, a freshly-baked cake decorated beautifully with 'Happy Birthday Rey!' written in beautiful flowing script and surrounded by chocolate buttercream roses, nestled in a white box with a bow on top.
Shouldering the door open, he ran into a particularly stout older man with a sour expression. The cake box slid out of his hands and landed at his feet with a subtle thump. Ben looked in disbelief from the sour man's face to the box which now bore a significant dent on the corner. After apologizing profusely for his clumsiness, he gathered his cake and bolted away from the bakery, aware he had lost precious time.
By his calculation, Rey would be off work in precisely 21-minutes and had a 17-minute commute on the subway. Given her apartment was on the opposite side of town from this bakery, 38-minutes left a precariously small window between when he arrived at her stop and when she did.
He knew he had no choice but to make a run for it, jumping onto the subway train just as the doors were starting to close. Unfortunately, it was standing room only, so he cradled the cake box in one arm, the other hand firmly gripping the bar as the train swayed while traveling along the line.
After a few stops, the train emptied out and he found a seat closer to the door so he could make a quick exit once they arrived at Rey's stop. Glancing at his watch, he thought that maybe…just maybe, he'd make it.
With the L line coasting along at a steady pace, it seemed all was going well. Suddenly, the train car jostled, the lights flickering as the train came to a screeching halt. The cake box again slid from his hands and he heard it sliding across the dirty aisle, scrambling hastily to pick it up.
The lights went out completely as he was bending to pick up the box when he realized he had bumped into someone's back end. The person in question was a young woman who shrieked and made a fuss, that he was such a pervert, and how dare he touch her ass. He backed up a step, seeing very little in the dim red emergency lighting before hearing a crunching of cardboard.
He swallowed thickly, tuning out the shrieking woman and looking down to see he had stepped on the cake box. He groaned, lamenting the fact that not only was he losing time being stuck on a broken-down subway cart, but he had also caused more damage to the cake he had bought for his beloved.
Picking up the box carefully, he settled on a nearby open seat. At this point, the bow on top was long gone, and the dented corner now had a shoe print and long indentation along one side. He swallowed thickly as he lifted the lid, to see just how damaged the cake was.
Somehow, the dim, red emergency lighting only made the cake look worse. Half the frosting was now stuck to the lid, and what frosting remained on the cake was flattened or crumbling and separating from the cake itself.
Heaving a sigh, he closed the lid and glanced at his watch. His shoulders sagged in defeat. He’d failed in baking a cake, and now he couldn't even deliver a professionally made cake on time. Setting the box on the seat next to him he buried his face in his hands.
Over the next 20 minutes, while waiting for the subway train to be fixed, he decided he'd toss the cake in the garbage, considering it a lost cause. He knew there was a flower shop around the block from Rey's apartment, so he'd just buy her a bouquet. He'd be late, but he wouldn't be empty-handed, and that was all that mattered.
The lights in the car switched back on, and the train started moving again. Ben held his head high, pleased to have had a backup backup plan. To his immense relief, the rest of the trip went without a hitch.
After throwing away the cake, he made it to the flower shop, a mere 10 minutes before they closed for the day. Thanking his lucky stars, he selected a bouquet with a variety of spring flowers including lilacs, daisies, daffodils, and tulips. It was fragrant and vibrantly beautiful.
"Who needs a cake anyway?" he muttered as he made his way down the sidewalk toward Rey's apartment.
Just as he approached the exterior entrance to the apartment, the heavens burst open, showering Ben in rain and drenching the delicate blooms.
"Seriously?!" he cried, glaring at the sky as the rain intensified.
At this point, he ran up the stairs taking them two at a time until he reached the door to Rey's apartment. Bracing his hand against the door frame, he breathed slowly, mentally preparing himself.
He reached to ring the doorbell just as Rey opened the door, startled to see Ben standing in her hallway. He could only imagine what he must look like. Drenched and disheveled, carrying a sorry-looking bouquet, some of the blooms having broken off the stems.
He swept a hand nervously through his hair, smiling sheepishly as he started to stammer an apology. "Hey, Rey, uh… sorry I'm late, but uh… H-happy Birthday…"
Rey simply gasped, looking up at Ben, her eyes full of love. "You knew? I was afraid I wouldn't see you today. Oh, Ben," she said, standing on tiptoe and throwing her arms over his shoulders, kissing him passionately.
Ben dropped the flowers, not caring anymore, just happy to be with her. He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her back with the same passion and enthusiasm she showed him.
Upon breaking the kiss, both breathed heavily, closing their eyes as they pressed their foreheads together. "I love you, Rey," he said reverently, nuzzling against her nose. "I love you so much."
"I love you too, Ben. Thank you for being here," she said somewhat breathlessly.
He opened his eyes, gazing lovingly into hers, feeling as if all was well in the world, despite everything he had gone through to get to this moment.
"Let's get you in and dried off. Come on, love. Maybe we can order some food?" Rey suggested, reluctantly pulling away from Ben and entering the apartment.
Ben bent to retrieve the sad-looking bouquet, watching as Rey made her way into her home, talking and gesturing as she went along. He couldn't help but smile, knowing she didn't even care about anything material that he might bring her. She was simply happy to see him. And that meant the world to him.