âItâs never too late for a tux, and if you really wanted me to believe I was worth one, youâd have at least made an effort,â she didnât really want the tux treatment, of course, and it was clear from her smile she was joking around, keeping the conversation going as way of passing the time while he was in the other room. âAnd itâd be a real shame if your heart grew a couple sizes, wouldnât it? Kiddingâ thatâs one way in which you differ to the grinch. You donât need your heart to start workingâ you just need to start enjoying your birthday, at least a little bit,â of course she didnât care whether her drink did or didnât have ice, and was happy to just take her glass and wait til he was ready to knock them together, briefly. âTo you. Another year older, and hopefully, wiser, too,â following suit because it was the polite thing to do, to wait til he made to take the first sip, Rylie took something of a gulp out of her own, not really taking the same amount of time he did to relish the flavor, but quick to pretend she had, âTold ya, didnât I? Only the top shelf for you, Em.â
âFine, fine. Next time, you will get the full tux. Will that make you happy?â he joked back. âBirthdays are terrible and no one can convince me otherwise. Or at least all of mine are..â He set his teacup down, knowing the drink belonged in a tumbler, but his were being washed at that moment, and he was beyond caring as long as he could enjoy his drink. âYou did indeed. Thank you. Now to get on with opening this most mysterious gift.â He carefully unwrapped the box he knew contained the photos of the sweet girl he had come to consider his only true family in the world. Once it was open, he felt tears welling up in his eyes. There she was, smiling, happy, enjoying life. This was how he wanted to remember her, no matter what happened in their futures. âThank you, Rylie. I... I needed this even more than I thought I did.â
