Birthday

Ah. Friday at last. That magical day of the week when, at approximately 4:15, I pile all of my dirty laundry into a basket, stuff all of my homework into my backpack, grab a Diet Coke, and head out to my trusty (if old) three door Honda. It's a routine, a very beloved one-going home from college. Home, where I can sleep in a comfortable bed with my cat on my feet. Home, where I can eat decent food at last. Home, where I can get someone ELSE to do my laundry for me. Bliss.

The Friday the 13th that just so happened to be my birthday wasn't all that different either. Sure, the girls in my hall had decorated my door with streamers, and my roommate, Beth, bless her, had brought me breakfast in bed. But I was still heading home, singing "Happy Birthday" to myself. The laundry was carefully piled in the basket (smelly gym socks on the bottom of course), my Japanese homework safely stowed away in my enormous backpack (along with a chemistry book I had no intention of even opening). I was headed home.

My Honda has an honor cord (from graduation) hung from the rearview mirror. Also, hung from the honor cord is a small, plastic key chain of Sanosuke. Hey, I'm allowed my little fetishes. Everyone asks about him. I say that he's the guardian of my car, though why someone would want to bother stealing my car is beyond me. So, as part of the weekly routine, I hop into my car, and talk to the key chain. "So, Sano, did you do a good job of protecting my car this week?" Just another comforting little ritual in my life.

This is about what happened on my birthday, as you may have guessed. Normally, when I ask Sanosuke if he's been doing a good job protecting my car, he doesn't say anything. Obviously. He's made of plastic.

That particular Friday, however, will be forever etched in my memory.

That Friday, he talked back.

"Hey, Sano, guess what? It's my birthday! Anyways…did you do a good job protecting my car this week?" I smiled to myself and fumbled the keys into the ignition.

"Yes, I did. I even stopped one of the CSU PD from wrongly ticketing your car. Oh, yeah, and happy birthday to you."

"Wow, thanks. If I got another parking ticket, I'd be in major trouble. Oh, and thanks for wishing me a happy bir…" I trailed off, realizing that something seemed to be amiss. Slowly, very slowly, I turned my head toward the passenger side, where the voice had come from.

Sanosuke smiled at me, his face tilted. Not by design, mind you, but more by necessity. My car is small even to the average American…and when you put someone tall in it, the result is humorous. Sano's shins were pressed against the dashboard, his knees nearly touching his chest. The side of his head rested against the roof…if he'd tried to sit up straight, he would have gone right through the top of my car. His hair hung ridiculously to one side.

I didn't really notice any of that, however, until later. One pressing matter was keeping my full attention: there was a strange man in my car. So I screamed, very loudly…and then lunged for the shinai that I always keep in the backseat.

Sano's eyes widened at my scream, and he waved his hands, trying to get me to calm down. When he saw me go for the bamboo sword, he caught my wrist in one of his rather large hands.

"AAA! Let me go! I know Shao Lin, punk!" I struggled wildly, trying to detach him from my wrist.

"Ne, Ne! Calm down, will ya? I'm not going to hurt you!" He released my wrist and grabbed me by the shoulders, shaking me.

I abruptly calmed down and narrowed my eyes suspiciously. "Did Gene put you up to this?"

"Who?"

I wrinkled my nose and narrowed my eyes further, giving him my best "take no shit" look.

Sanosuke just smiled at me. "Hey, no one puts me up to anything. I don't play tricks on girls."

I glared at him suspiciously, glancing over at my rear view mirror. The key chain was gone. I looked him right in the eye, and used my best commanding voice. "What do you want?"

"Want? Whadd'ya mean? Come on, you said yourself that it's your birthday. You take good care of me, and I like ya. So it's only fair if I give you a birthday present." He smiled at me once more, the expression lighting up his eyes a bit. Despite myself, I melted. Ok, so I'm weak of will.

"Ok…so, what did you have in mind as a present?"

"Well, I know you ain't much of a party person…so tell you what, I wanna see one of those moving picture things. Then I can buy you dinner." He grinned, slightly evilly. "I mooched some cash off of Jyo-chan yesterday, so I can even pay without borrowing money from you."

I let a note of dryness creep into my voice. "How nice."

There was a long pause while we regarded each other.

"Well?"

I started. I'd been gawking. Ok? I have a major thing for this guy, and suddenly he's real. I had a right to gawk. "Huh?" I stated intelligently.

"Are we going or what?"

"Yeah, sure. I was heading down to Denver anyway, so we can go to the Promenade. It's the nicest movie theatre around." I cranked the engine over, letting out a relieved sigh when it caught.

"Sounds good" He fidgeted for a moment. "Hey, is there any way to move this seat? I'm a little cramped."

"Huh? Yeah, sure." Unthinkingly, I reached over and pulled the lever to scoot the seat back. I almost jumped when I accidentally touched him.

He grinned. "Thanks, that's a lot better. Let's hit the road now, huh? Not much time left in your birthday."

I smiled. "Sure thing."

So we were off. We went to the movies, where we saw "What Dreams May Come". I bought popcorn for myself, and Sano managed to snork most of it down when I wasn't looking, but I was compensated by the fact that he put an arm around my shoulders all through the movie.

After that, we went to a nearby burger joint. I had a salad, as normal. He ordered the biggest burger, a basket of fries, and two deserts, as well as three strawberry milkshakes. It was cute to watch, though I have to admit, it's disgusting how much some people can eat and still stay thin.

By that time, it was dark, so on Sano's suggestion, I drove out to a nearby field, and we sat down on the hood of my car, to watch the stars. It was unseasonably warm for a November, still in the 50s even after dark. He simply held me and we watched the sky, occasionally chatting. At about ten til midnight, Sano cleared his throat.

"Hey, your birthday's almost over. Have a good day?"

I snuggled against him and smiled. "Yep."

"Good. Sorry to say, but I have to go real soon. Sorry."

I sighed. "It's ok. This was the nicest birthday of my life. You should come around on your birthday sometime…then I'll buy YOU dinner." I thought for a moment. "On second thought, if I bought you dinner, I wouldn't have any money left."

He laughed. "I'll see what I can do about it. Fair's fair. Anyway…time to hit the road."

I nodded and sat up. He slipped off the hood of the car and took a few steps away…then disappeared. I glanced back at my rearview mirror, and saw that the key chain had returned. With a soft sigh, I got in my car and drove home, where I was scolded by my mother for being so late. It didn't really bother me, though.

So anyway, that's the story of the best birthday I've ever had. I can't wait til next year.

Yeah, and you wonder why I sleep with the key chain on my pillow now, instead of leaving it out in the car?

Hey, you never know. Sanosuke's birthday is coming up.