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ALVAREZ RESIDENCE - MORNING…
Diego wakes up, staring at the ceiling for some time. Today was his birthday. Not that he cared much about it anymore. Birthdays haven’t been a big deal for him for some time now.
Not since…
Diego shakes those thoughts away, preferring not to dwell too much on the past. He gets out of bed and checks his phone. The first ones to greet him are his parents.
MAMÁ: Feliz cumpleaños, Hijo.(Happy Birthday, Son.)
PAPA: Feliz cumpleaños, Hijo. Tu mamá y yo estamos muy orgullosos de que seas nuestro chiquitín. Te amamos.(Happy birthday, Son. Your mom and I are so proud that you are our boy. We love you.)
DIEGO: Gracias, Mamá.(Thanks, Mom.)
DIEGO: Gracias, Papá.(Thanks, Dad.)
Then he gets a notification from Kai.
KAI: Happy Birthday Bro!
KAI: Can’t wait to see you and Elena in a couple weeks.
DIEGO: 👍
DIEGO: Thanks, hope everything is going well for you back home.
Immediately he gets another text from Selena.
SELENA: Happy Birthday.
SELENA: My tia’s wish you a happy birthday as well.
SELENA: Midnight also wishes you a happy birthday
She sends a picture of Midnight with a small birthday hat. Diego chuckles, liking the picture and saving it before putting the phone down. He turns to the door and spots two sticky notes on his bedroom door.
Happy Birthday, to my favorite idiot!
–ELENA
Happy Birthday, Kid.
–ALVAREZ
Diego stares at the sticky notes for a few moments. He’s not sure why these notes and the texts were affecting him this much. He shrugs to himself, not wanting to think much of it as he places the notes on his desk. He goes to change before stepping out of his room.
“Happy Birthday!” Elena shouts.
Diego jumps from the surprise.
“Jesus Christ, woman!” Diego shouts, clenching his chest, his heart beating fast.
Elena just cackles at his startled expression.
“You think this is funny!”
“Yes.”
“Screw you.”
“Love you too.”
Meanwhile, Alvarez is looking at both kids with an amused expression. He chuckles to himself, shaking his head at their shenanigans. He gets closer to the boy as he pats him on the shoulder.
“Happy Birthday kid.” Alvarez says, “Hope the rest of your day goes well.”
“It will be.” Elena proclaims, “I already have a plan for what we will be doing all day.”
Diego turns to look at her warily. “I thought you were joking about that list!”
Elena looks offended, “I never joke when it comes to these things.”
She pulls out a piece of paper as she shows him the list of all the places they will be going. Diego looks through the list, his eyes widened in surprise.
“Elena…” he gives back the note, “Everything on the list covers half of Los Angeles.”
Elena nods excitedly as she grabs his hand and begins dragging him out.
“Come on, come on, we have no time to waste.”
“Wait! Elena!” Diego squawks.
“See ya later dad!”
The door slams shut, leaving Alvarez alone. He shakes his head, chuckling to himself.
Have fun kid…
For the whole day, she took Diego all around the city: they ate breakfast at their favorite diner, enjoying a fat stack of pancakes, drenching them with syrup. They then went to the arcades where Diego ended up losing a lot(he complained that she should’ve let him win since he was the birthday boy only to have her stick her tongue at him, mocking Diego). After getting his ass kicked in the arcade they stopped at the comic book shop hoping to find something good and left the story holding a bag each. They then headed to the park to walk around and take a small break as they ate lunch. They went bowling after, resulting in Diego being completely destroyed by Elena.
“...” Diego stays silent, shocked by how badly he lost.
He turns to look at Elena who was giving him the biggest grin of her life.
“You cheated.”
“That’s what a sore loser would say.”
“I’m not a sore loser!”
After Elena was done gloating, she dragged him to the beach where they walked along the water, dipping their feet into the ocean. She was able to somehow convince Diego to go to karaoke. Something that he immediately regretted the moment she shoved a microphone in his hands.
At some point, Diego’s phone began to rang. He pulls his phone out to see it was his mother calling him.
“Hola, Mama.”(Hello Mom.)
“Feliz cumpleaños, Mijo,”(Happy Birthday, Son.) his mom says with a big smile.
“Esperemos que te esté yendo bien allá.”(We hope everything is going well!) His dad says, smiling softly, as he grabs his wife's hand. “Esperamos que te estés divirtiendo.”(We hope you are having fun.)
Diego smiles, “Me va bien, estoy aquí con Elena. Les mando las fotos cuando regrese al apartamento.”(I’m doing well, I’m with Elena. I’ll send you the photos when I get back to the apartment.)
“Recuerda mandarnos un mensaje cuando regreses. Diviértete mucho y ten cuidado.” His mom tells him.(Remember to send us a message when you arrive. Have fun and be careful.)
Diego's smile grows wide as he puffs his chest out a little. “Lo haré. Ya me tengo que ir, Elena ya va a regresar.”(Will do. I gotta go now, Elena is coming back.)
“Dales nuestros saludos.”(Say hi for us.) His father says.
“Y recuerda,”(And Remember.) his mom says, “te amamos mucho.”(We love you.)
“Los amo tambien.”(I love you too.) Diego says softly.
Both parents wave goodbye to their son as the call disconnects. The moment he puts his phone down, Elena gets closer and sees him smiling.
“What’s got you smiling like that?” She says, grinning.
Diego rolls his eyes. “Nothing,” he says. “My parents say hi.”
Elena pouts. “You couldn’t let me greet them.”
“And have you embarrass me? No thanks.”
“How cruel.”
“You deserve it.”
“Asshole.”
“Bitch.”
Elena punches him in the shoulder. “Alright asshole, come on, I have one more surprise to show you.”
The ride back home is calm. Well, as calm as it could be with Elena behind the wheel. But Diego was too tired to care if they lived or died. He ate good food already so he is ready to meet his maker. Thankfully, by the grace of god, they were able to arrive back home without Elena killing them. Elena rushes inside the apartment, leaving Diego alone. He rolls his eyes, following behind.
As he enters the apartment, he sees how dark it was inside.
“Elena?” Diego asks, frowning as he steps inside. “Alvarez?”
Immediately after the lights turn on.
“SURPRISE!/SURPRISE!” Both Elena and Alvarez shout at the same time.
Diego blinks, surprised at what’s in front of him. The detective stands there with a small cake in his hands, with a banner behind him with the words.
HAPPY 19th, DIEGO!
Written on it.
Alvarez chuckles a little, seeing Diego’s surprised expression.
“What?” the older man begins, “You think we were gonna let you spend your birthday without cake?”
“Come on,” Elena says, pushing Diego closer to the cake.
“I…I don’t know what to say.” Diego says.
“How about, thank you, Elena, for planning such a magnificent party for me. I am eternally grateful for such a blessing,” Elena says teasingly.
Diego rolls his eyes at her response.
“Thank you, Elena, for planning such a magnificent party for me. Truly, I am eternally grateful for such a blessing.” Diego says sarcastically.
Elena smiles, ignoring his blatant sarcasm.
“See? Wasn’t that hard.”
“I hate you.”
“You love me~”
Diego looks away, “Don’t push it woman.”
They sit down on the table as Alvarez places the cake in front of Diego. Both the father-daughter duo begin to sing happy birthday to Diego. As he looked at the candlelight flickering in front of him, he couldn’t help but smile.
Even though he’s hundreds of miles away from home, sitting here on the small table with the two people who not only let him into their home but in their lives made him realize that this place has become a second home for him.
He stares back at them once more, his small smile growing bigger as they finish the song.
“Make a wish.” Elena says.
He closes his eyes. He doesn’t wish for anything too complicated. He just wishes that this moment and many others can last forever.
He leans forward and blows the candles.