One Week Later – Watson House
Keifer woke up like any other day. Stretched. Checked his phone.
October 15. His birthday.
He smiled slightly. Not because of birthday. Because of Jay.
She was already awake. Sitting on his bed. Holding a small wrapped gift.
"Happy birthday, baby," she whispered.
Keifer sat up. Pulled her close. Kissed her forehead.
"Thank you, love."
Jay grinned. "Open it!"
He opened the small box. Inside was a simple silver bracelet. Engraved inside: Forever yours, Jay.
Keifer's heart melted. "It's perfect."
Jay helped him put it on. "Now you always have a piece of me with you."
Keifer kissed her. Soft. Sweet. "I love you."
Jay smiled. "I love you more. Now get ready. We have plans."
Keifer raised an eyebrow. "Plans?"
Jay nodded. "Just trust me."
They went for breakfast. A quiet cafe. Just them.
Keifer noticed the waiter smiled at Jay. Like he knew her.
They went for a walk. Passed by a park. Section E was there. Playing basketball. They waved.
Keifer noticed. "They're here early."
Jay shrugged. "Maybe they just like basketball."
They went for lunch. A nice restaurant. Private room.
Keifer noticed the table was set for many people. But only them there.
"Expecting someone?" he asked.
Jay shook her head. "No. Just us."
Keifer smiled. Didn't push.
They went shopping. Jay kept checking her phone. Smiling at messages.
Keifer noticed. Didn't say anything.
They went back to Watson House. Everything seemed normal.
Keifer noticed the house was too quiet. Where were Keigan and Keiren? Serina and Keizer?
Jay held his hand. "Let's go to the garden."
Keifer followed. Smiling inside.
He knew.
He always knew.
But he pretended not to.
For her.
They walked through the back door.
"SURPRISE!"
The garden exploded with people. Lights. Banners. Balloons.
Section E was there. All of them. Screaming.
Mariano family. Jasfer. Jeana. Jane. Kyle. Percy.
Watson family. Serina. Keizer. Keigan. Keiren.
Fernandez family. Gemma. Angelo. Ion. Aries. Ella.
Grace and Denzel with Grazel. Even Freya stood at the back. Smiling small.
Ci-N ran up. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEIFER!"
Drew yelled, "I BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW!"
Mayo and Kit waved. "WE HELPED PLAN!"
Rakki held a sign. "KEIFER IS OLD NOW!"
Keifer looked around. Fake shock on his face.
But inside, he was so happy.
Jay squeezed his hand. "Surprise."
Keifer pulled her close. Kissed her head. "You did all this?"
Jay nodded. "With help. Lots of help."
Keifer looked at everyone. His family. Her family. Their friends.
"Thank you," he said softly. "All of you."
Jane screamed. "SPEECH! SPEECH!"
Everyone joined. "SPEECH! SPEECH!"
Keifer stood in the middle. Jay beside him. Hand in hand.
He cleared his throat. "I don't usually talk much. You all know that."
Everyone laughed.
"But today... I'll try."
He looked at Jay.
"Before Jay, birthdays were just days. My family made them nice. But I never really cared."
Serina wiped a tear.
Keifer continued. "Then Jay came. And everything changed."
Jay's eyes filled with tears.
"She planned this. For weeks. I noticed everything." He smiled. "The waiter. Section E at the park. The empty restaurant. The quiet house."
Jay gasped. "You knew?!"
Keifer nodded. "I always know. But I pretended not to. Because seeing you happy... trying to surprise me... that was the best gift."
Jay laughed. Cried. Hugged him.
Keifer held her tight. "Thank you, love. For this. For everything. For being you."
Everyone awwwwed.
Ci-N sobbed. "BEST SPEECH EVER!"
Rakki wiped her eyes. "They're too cute."
Eman wheeled out a huge cake. Three tiers. Chocolate. Keifer's favorite.
On top, two small figures. A boy in a suit. A girl in a dress. Holding hands.
Jay pointed. "That's us."
Keifer smiled. "Perfect."
Everyone sang Happy Birthday.
Keifer blew the candles. One wish.
Jay. Forever.
Jay leaned in. "What did you wish for?"
Keifer kissed her. "You."
She blushed. Everyone cheered.
They sat in a big circle. Presents piled high.
Ci-N went first. Gave a funny hat. "For your grumpy days!"
Keifer put it on. Everyone laughed.
Drew gave a bet box. "Full of fake money. For good luck!"
Mayo and Kit gave matching shirts. "JAYFER FOREVER" on them.
Rakki gave a photo album. Full of Section E memories.
Grace and Denzel gave a frame. Picture of Keifer holding baby Grazel. "World's Best Godfather."
Grazel crawled over. Gave him a tiny scribble drawing.
Keifer held it carefully. "I'll keep this forever."
The families gave bigger gifts. Watches. Clothes. Tech.
But Keifer's favorite was from Jay.
A picture frame. First picture of Jay and Keifer together. From the gala. Right after they realized who each other was. Both looking shocked. Happy. In love.
Jay smiled. "Love at first sight. Well... second sight."
Keifer's heart stopped. He looked at the photo. Then at her.
"Jay..."
Jay shrugged. "For us. To remember where we started."
Keifer pulled her close. Kissed her. Long. Sweet.
Jane screamed. "GET A ROOM!"
Percy nodded. "THEY HAVE ONE!"
Everyone laughed.
Eman cooked everything. Endless food. Everyone ate too much.
Ci-N did stupid tricks. Fell. Got up. Did more.
Drew made bets on everything. How many slices Ci-N would eat. Twelve. Drew won.
Mayo and Kit danced. Badly. But cute.
Rakki and Ci-N argued. As usual. But smiled.
Calix and Mica slow danced. Sweet.
David predicted everyone would be full in an hour. He was right.
Edrix and Rory hacked the speaker. Played Keifer's favorite songs.
Eren flirted with someone. Got rejected. Everyone laughed.
Josh smiled quietly. Happy.
Blaster played drums on empty boxes.
Grazel slept through everything. Perfect baby.
Jasfer hugged Keifer. "Happy birthday, son."
Keifer blinked. "Son?"
Jasfer nodded. "You're marrying my princess. You're my son now."
Keifer smiled. "Thank you, sir."
Jasfer laughed. "Call me Dad."
Keifer nodded. "Okay... Dad."
Jeana hugged him next. "My second son. Welcome."
Serina hugged Jay. "My daughter. Forever."
Keizer hugged Jay too. "Take care of my boy."
Jay smiled. "Always."
Keigan and Keiren ran over. "JAY! YOU'RE OUR SISTER NOW!"
Keiren nodded. "Best sister ever!"
Jay hugged them both. "Best brothers ever."
Percy watched. "Our families are so weird."
Jane nodded. "But we're happy weird."
Kyle shrugged. "Best kind of weird."
Guests left. Garden quiet. Lights twinkling.
Jay and Keifer sat alone. On the bench where it all began.
Jay leaned on his shoulder. "Happy birthday, baby."
Keifer kissed her head. "Best birthday ever."
Jay looked up. "Really?"
Keifer nodded. "Really. Because of you."
Jay smiled. "I love you."
Keifer smiled back. "I love you more."
They sat there. Stars above. Love around.
Grazel's drawing in his pocket. Jay's bracelet on his wrist. The picture frame in his hands. First photo together. First of forever.
Everything he ever wanted.
Everything he never knew he needed.
Her.