[OTA] Beware of Greeks bearing gifts

[headfollowheart.livejournal.com]

Zoe's twenty-first birthday had started well enough, with murmured birthday wishes from Victor and a promise of dinner tonight before he left to start his day either in his office here or the one over at Club Castle. And it had, for a few hours at least continued well. She dropped in on the accounting office to check on Penelope - she might be taking the day off, but her assistant was still new enough that she liked to check in before disappearing for the day. Then she'd dropped into the Head of Finance's office to hand over the expenditure reports for September and smile at Edison's side-eye. He was a Six, after all, and had some idea that Zoe had plans to challenge him at some point, but there was little he could do about that.

And he wouldn't be wrong, anyway.

The day only went south when she headed down the hall and found a pair of Heart Twos with a box. The library was quiet this time of day, and she hated to let people into Victor's rooms, so she nodded in that direction, letting them put it on a table deep in the stacks and dismissing them before she opened the note. She recognized the handwriting, after all.

Darling, Happy Birthday and a belated congratulations on your impressive achievement of Five. Of course, if you'd stayed put, you could be a Nine with your dear, dear brother by now, but I'm sure you're intelligent enough to not realize that.

I'd hate to leave this day unacknowledged. These are some things I thought you'd enjoy, dear.

Charlotte Huntly Kattalakis

Well, Zoe thought as she picked up the yellowed letters and unfolded the first. They ran the gamut: letters from Charlotte, letters from Aunt Maggie, letters from someone named Maria. Correspondence of a more...professional sort - off-Deck jobs, compensation for them.

It was all supposed to upset her, Zoe thought. And it...didn't, really. She'd known even if she'd pretended not to, what kind of man her father had been. She'd seen things, she thought, and then she blinked when she saw a black velvet box tossed carelessly in the corner of the box, reaching over to pick it up. Inside were earrings, and a note old enough that the paper had started to yellow.

Για Ζωή, για εικοστό πρώτο έτος της ηλικίας της.

"Papa," she murmured, and leaned back in the chair as she looked down at the jewelry. Would he be upset with her for what she'd done with her life? Did it matter? It shouldn't, certainly, especially not after this summer, but...

Well.

Maybe it did, a little.

[Translation: For Zoe, on her twenty-first birthday.]

Comments

[onlytolerable.livejournal.com]

Sophie's had no surprises from beyond the grave. In fact, the only "surprise" she's had so far is a small box of Godiva chocolates (given anonymously by Miss Henshaw) on her desk that morning. That's fine by her. Birthday celebrations are meant for other people, not Sophies.

Over the years, people have forgotten October 1st is hers just as she's neglected to mention it. Tonight, she'll treat herself to two scoops of ice cream and curl up with a good book.

Today finds her conducting her weekly library runs. It's not unusual to drop by and say hello to friends. It is unusual to see the normally unflappable Zoe, well, flapped.

"Zoe? What--you look deep in thought. Is something wrong?"

On second thought, her friend doesn't look flapped at all. She's wearing that carefully still face that Sophie's come to recognize.

[headfollowheart.livejournal.com]

She does not want to be upset by this, really. They're just earrings, beautiful ones, and it's not like she doesn't have heart-shaped jewelry. There's the pendant Victor got her last year for this day, and then the jewelry she got for Christmas last year. Plus everything else over the years that she's gotten and not stopped wearing just because she's now a Spade.

So this pair of earrings shouldn't matter. They just do, a little.

"Hey," she says, and manages a smile. "Oh, just...wondering about a few things. It's my birthday today."

[onlytolerable.livejournal.com]

If you squint, a Heart is just a Spade upside-down. Right now, Sophie's not so much squinting at birthday gifts as she is gaping at Zoe.

"Truly? That's--!" She snaps her mouth shut. "...amazing," she finishes lamely. "You don't look terribly excited by it."

[piquedbutler.livejournal.com]

21 divided by 3 is 7. That doesn't Mean much. Divided by 4 is 5.25, which is a Little Better. But 10 times 2 plus 1 is 21, and that... that's just Fantastic, isn't it.

So he'll find her in the morning, at 10:21, like Clockwork. There's a bit of a Crunch, really--there are new Twos who came to the Kitchens during his Absence, and if that doesn't make things More of a Living Hell than is Strictly Necessary, nothing in the universe can--and Supervision is more Required than usual. But it's important he find her just Now, wherever she is, to pass what's clearly a neatly wrapped binder into her hands.

"Mistress."

She'll likely open it later, find the Immaculate but Simple (for Him) paper-cut card on top of the beautifully penned sheet music he's had copied for the binder (http://rlv.zcache.com/spades_binder-p127705733724082128enqy8_210.jpg). Jazz Standards with a touch of Western Classics. Half of them he knows she owns, thought she might like a nearly Illuminated Copy of. Half are guesses, his own inexpert attempt at finding Things She'd Like.

"Happy birthday."

[headfollowheart.livejournal.com]

She's decided to put the earrings away, later, and burn the letters. Maybe she shouldn't - someone would probably tell her that it's important to keep these kinds of things - but nonetheless, when Chives finds her, the letters are gone, and the fireplace has a little new ash.

And she's reading Grimm's Fairy Tales at the same table. She even smiles when she looks up at Chives. "Good morning," she says. "It's too early for second tea, isn't it?"

First is, actually, coffee, delivered to Victor's door and poured down Zoe's throat at seven am. Second is 10:30. Lunch is 12:30, and so on. It's their routine; she likes it.

[lowtohigh.livejournal.com]

Mondays, unfortunately, are days when lessons have to actually be attended. But just because there won't be time even to pop around to the Spade Castle for a hug or a handing over of birthday wishes is no reason why a small box with a thoughts (http://www.origami.gr.jp/Archives/People/YOSN_/horseP.jpg) inside and note can't come from the office of the Ace of Clubs to find their way into Zoë's hands.

[headfollowheart.livejournal.com]

The origami makes her laugh, the Charlotte-induced mood momentarily banished since the questions aren't ones she can answer. And it's easy enough, since Eileen isn't in front of her, anyway.

[bluntforces.livejournal.com]

Being away from home, of course, is no reason to miss a birthday. So the poor new twenty-one-year-old will have to endure yet another box, brown-papered and everything, half a dozen postage stamps splattered across it despite the fact he'd handed it off to a fellow Club to trek back into the Deck for him. Not a small box, either. One about the size of a motorcycle helmet.

And chock-full of Canada's most famous and delicious product (http://ocanada.com.au/shop/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/5e06319eda06f020e43594a9c230972d/K/r/KraftDinner_Lge_2.png). Ou rien KD was going to make it back to the Deck one way or another.

Below the blue boxes, of course, is a smaller jewelry box, bow only slightly crushed and containing a much more sensible gift (http://www.prlog.org/10312695-handmade-jewelry-handcrafted-jewelry-unique-jewelrywholesale-jewelry-inukshuk.jpg) for a young lady. And, of course, a late in the day buzz at her phone.

[headfollowheart.livejournal.com]

...Really, Evan. Really.

Really. She's going to stare at the Kraft Dinner for a good long time before she finds the earrings - but then she'll put them on instead of the garnets.And the text will get a smart reply.

Evan. You realize my butler might burn 95% of your present.

[maskofhearts.livejournal.com]

Hadyn sent a box (http://www.barneys.com/Manolo-Blahnik-Hangisi/502192128,default,pd.html?cgid=womens-heels&index=47) that was wrapped (http://ohjoy.blogs.com/.a/6a00d8341c6a0853ef0147e0583d54970b-800wi") creatively. There was a note, too. Scrawled in a quick, sloppy French that promised he'd try to find time to see her that night.

And a ticket- to one bar of her choice in town. He wasn't his uncle. He couldn't afford to send them off to Europe for a weekend.

[headfollowheart.livejournal.com]

It's only right, then, that later that night, Zoe beards Hadyn in his den - or the theatre, if you prefer - wearing her brand new Manolos and a black dress (http://www.my-wardrobe.com/lagence/sleeveless-dress-with-faux-persian-lamb-bodice-535938?utm_source=affiliate_window_affiliate&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=affiliate_window_92295_Polyvore&cm_mmc=affiliate-_-affiliate-window-_-UK-_-my-wardrobe&src=affiliate_window). At least, though, she doesn't ask if he's eaten today.

"I pick the Wild Card," she tells him as she leans in his office at the theatre and looks around. "We haven't been clubbing for a long time." Probably related to their involvement with high-ranked men in their thirties.

[morallydefunct.livejournal.com]

"Hiding on one's birthday is never a good sign." Says the man who just failed to mention when his had been. Still, he placed two (http://www.tiffany.com/Shopping/Item.aspx?fromGrid=1&sku=GRP05413&mcat=148204&cid=287465&search_params=s+5-p+9-c+287465-r+101323351-x+-n+6-ri+-ni+0-t+) boxes (http://www.tiffany.com/Shopping/Item.aspx?sku=18532239&mcat=148204&cid=287458&fromGrid=1&search_params=s+5-p+3-c+287458-r+101323341-x+-n+6-ri+-ni+0-t+) on the table in front of her before he leaned in and kissed her softly.

It was only as he pulled away that he seemed to notice the earrings in her hand. "Should I be worried?"

[headfollowheart.livejournal.com]

She gave him the sort of steady look that said she remembered just how she found out about his birthday, thanks. But she kissed him back, lightly, and then shrugged at his answer.

"No," she said dryly. "My father intended to give them to me today, apparently. Charlotte sent them."

[chippedcitrine.livejournal.com]

Aoife cannot claim to know Zoë very well but she had made the Spade's flower arrangement almost entirely on her own. She was always eager to play a part in the floral designs of people her own age. Sophie was next on her list; Orla had done hers.

Zoe will have received an arrangement of french marigolds, bronze chrysanthemum and red azalea on a bed of hay. The colours burn in their wicker basket like a compact furnace. Fine ornamental grasses (Arizona fescue and silky threadgrass) loop over the basket like wisps of smoke. At the base of the arrangement is a waterproof container and a moist sponge, holding the plant matter together.

[headfollowheart.livejournal.com]

It's a beautiful arrangement, one that makes Zoe smile when Aoife brings it into the library. "That's beautiful," she says. It is, of course. She loves all the warm colors, and chrysanthemums are some of her favorites.

"Did you make it?" She asks, looking up.

[indeliblespade.livejournal.com]

He'd found her later. Someone had told him it was her birthday, and since he owed his staying here to her, he wanted to do something nice for her. He didn't have a lot of money, but he was able to make her a dozen pieces of home made chocolate (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-av1T6FeNFcI/TVg4QsdvhmI/AAAAAAAAMuQ/0pTNMBQ2yIU/s1600/homemade+chocolates1.jpg) candies. They looked a mess, but they tasted ok. He'd placed them into a box, and he'd folded a piece of paper into the ribbon wrapped around it.

The paper said "Happy Birthday and Thank you" and was signed on the outside,


Once unfolded it would reveal a charcoal sketch (http://media-cache0.pinterest.com/upload/80009330850271341_lElLsp62_b.jpg) he'd made of her. He carried the box gingerly, and when he saw her he bowed, holding the package out with both hands as he whispered "Happy Birthday, this is for you."

[headfollowheart.livejournal.com]

When In Su ran into her, she'd finally stopped...moping, she supposed, over her mother, and her father and things someone who was dead might think - and had gone shopping, picking up a dress (http://www.my-wardrobe.com/lagence/sleeveless-dress-with-faux-persian-lamb-bodice-535938?utm_source=affiliate_window_affiliate&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=affiliate_window_92295_Polyvore&cm_mmc=affiliate-_-affiliate-window-_-UK-_-my-wardrobe&src=affiliate_window) to wear when she dragged her brother out for celebrating later. She had it folded neatly in a bag from a Spade boutique, and she smiled at In Su.

Shopping pretty much always cheered her up.

"Oh, you didn't have to," she said as she took the box. "But thank you. Did you make them?"

[heart-the-art.livejournal.com]

Sandy couldn't be there right away. There was another Two of Hearts with another package. A legal document sized package that was obviously something framed. There is a note and a rose squiggle.
I'll be dropping by later today! Happy Birthday!

When she has time to open it, Zoe will find It's yet another charcoal drawing, but different from In-Su's. The sketch isn't quite hyper realistic, but the sketch is of a man sitting on steps with a little girl. It was a damn bitch to find pictures of Zoe's father, but not so hard to ask around for photos of Zoe as a little girl. The pose isn't from a photograph of the father and daughter on the steps, but something that seemed nice to Sandy. But there's a warmth captured on Georgios' face and sheer contentment on little Zoe's face. The frame is custom made, too. After all, that's the place where the then Hearts met. Sandy knows Zoe wasn't happy with her father but... sometimes anger just means you still care.

Later, she knocks on the door of Zoe's office, bottle of Cupcake Vodka with ribbons wrapped around it in hand. "Hey there."

[headfollowheart.livejournal.com]

It was a much nicer package than the first, Zoe thinks when she opens it, even if it's a bit bittersweet. Sandy's captured her father so well, she thinks. His expression even more than his face, and she doesn't really remember feeling that light, that little.

It goes up on the wall next to the painting Victor got her last spring, from Elisha, in their rooms, and when Sandy arrives, she's dropped in for a second time to check Penelope's work (it'll be a wonder if she manages to leave the Deck overnight, really.)

"Hey," she says with a bright smile. "That looks like a party."

[oneirophiliac.livejournal.com]

Annie will come bouncing by in the middle of the day with a pretty box of candied almonds and a card. Or rather, she'll come bouncing by Zoe's office and not find her, which will start a search. When she finds Zoe at last, she'll be starting to droop, but she still has a big smile. "Heard you had a birthday going on."

[headfollowheart.livejournal.com]

She took the day off, because really, if there's one day you shouldn't be crunching numbers, it's your birthday.

"Number twenty-one," Zoe says, leaning her elbows on the library table as she nibbles on the scone that a Two had brought her with her tea. She has a small pile of jewelry boxes on top of a Manolo Blahnik box, but she's examining the ingredient list on Evan's present of Kraft Dinner. "Sit down a while?" She adds when she sees the familiar droop. She and Annie have been friends a few months now, after all. She's got the signs down.

[allthesamemask.livejournal.com]

She's still waking in the morning hiding her tears in the pillow and letting Säde hold her instead of pretending she was asleep until Säde went away. She knows the date, though. She remembers the first time she came.

So Leigh will be asking around Spade Castle in the afternoon, looking for Zoe. There are cookies that need to be given.

[headfollowheart.livejournal.com]

Zoe remembers too. She remembers waving Dafydd off because her six foot tall friend clearly was frightening Leigh, and she remembers the network of scars Leigh showed her on her arms.

Cookies are a more cheerful way to celebrate today, even with everything else.

Like Eileen, Leigh finds Zoe outside, on a bench in the Spade garden. Somehow she's gotten roped into babysitting a pair of Spadelings who are playing in the new children's area, so she's put aside the embroidery for a book - something she can look up from fairly frequently. Which is what she does when Leigh wanders in. "Hi," she says with a quiet sort of smile. The last time she saw Leigh, after all, was at the hospital, and while she'd mostly been there for Chives, she couldn't help but see the pain everyone else was in.

[sirforawhile.livejournal.com]

He doesn't have to take care of the brood in the mornings, and he can spare enough time from actual work to slip over to Spade Castle, so he'll come calling with coffee and pastries. "Morning, Zoe. Chocolate mint or apple cinnamon?"

Present? Oh, yes. That too.

[headfollowheart.livejournal.com]

"Apple cinnamon," Zoe says promptly. "It's getting chilly, that always makes me want that sort of flavor."

She pushes aside the pile of presents and smiles at him. "Snuck off work just for me?"