#epmel

Trish stepped out into the morning sun, digging through her purse looking for her keys. She’d left the studio at a reasonable time the day before because she’d gotten into a creative rut and needed to take a step back from her current painting. Today she didn’t feel much better about it but knew if she didn’t go stare at that canvas some more, it wouldn’t go anywhere. Her parking spot wasn’t too far from the entrance to the building, a fact that either had to do with the board thinking she was attractive or the board being afraid of Hades or both, so she didn’t go far before she got to her car. That being said, she saw the colorful papers long before she’d gotten to it, she was anticipating something - in fact, she knew the night before that something was happening but let the girl get away with her prank. The security on the building and the parking lot were high but when she got the call that someone was ‘vandalizing’ her car, she told security to leave it be and was simply curious what Mel was up to but not looking outside so she’d still have the element of suspense.

Flora opened her front door holding Richard in her arms to keep him from running out again and paused - no one was there but she could have sworn she’d heard footsteps. Looking down the hall she tried to see if maybe a neighbor had received a visitor instead though she saw nothing. She stepped back and moved to close the door when she saw the familiar box. Flora smiled, picking up the package from her sister’s bakery and brought it inside to inspect, the familiar scent of her favorite vegan lemon bars wafting lightly up from the box. She placed Richard on his pillow before returning to the box, ready to dig into the treats when she noticed the card. She took a bite as she opened the card and instantly stopped chewing, the color leaving her face. In one quick movement, she dove towards her sink and spit out the food.

They had been prepping for this day months in advance. The first month was figuring out what to give her, the second how to hide it from her. Luckily it all went according to plan. They bought several empty cardboard boxes. Some they were going to hide throughout the house and others they would hide at Melody’s friends’ houses. Every so often they would hear a shout from her, that’s when they knew she found one of the trick boxes. Luckily for them the girl went to bed early because of her job. So they took this opportunity to set up her gift. They asked the neighbor to hide the boxes for the day, luckily Dash had the charm to convince a strange to do such a thing. They retrieved it from the man and went back to their house. They placed the small envelope in a small box, and then put that small box in a bigger one and so on. When they were finished the box reached about Dash’s waist. The boys wrapped the box in a colorful, festive paper, and put a big red bow on top of the box. The only thing missing was the birthday girl.

When the clock struck midnight they jumped in her room and started blowing horns and throwing confetti’s at her while singing Happy Birthday. “Oh my god!” She said, tears were starting to well up in her eyes “This isn’t from happiness this is because I’m mad at you too for waking me up.” She got up from her bed and hugged the two boys tightly. “Here you go.” Dash gently put a Birthday cone hat on Melody. She smiled at him and squeezed his cheeks. “Come see your present.” Tip grabbed Melody’s arm and lead her to the living room. Melody’s chin dropped and a loud gasp exited her mouth. “Oh my god!” She managed to say. “What ?!” Melody hugged the two guys one more time before making her way to unwrap her giant gift.

Fauna spent most of the early morning prepping doughnuts and croissants for the morning rush. When the happy brunette walked in for work, Fauna greeted her with a smile.

The phone rang loudly on the nightstand, why did i put this obnoxious ringtone ? the boy thought, his hand searched the nightstand while he faced the other way. “Hello ?” Tip managed to say. “ Is this T-Tip-Tippo… Tippo Doren I’m talking to ?” A woman’s voice asked on the other line. He sat up in his bed “It’s Tippou, call me Tip, and yes. It’s me. Who is this ?” he had a feeling this was an important matter. Maybe his aunt became sober enough to realize he was gone, though that was almost impossible he still liked to believe it was possible. “My name is Elizabeth, I’m a social worker. Did you know Clarissa Bell ?” the name sounded oddly familiar. “Clarissa Bell ?” he repeated to make sure he heard well. ”Yes. Her.” The lady confirmed. He thought for a few seconds  until he finally remembered. “Oh yeah! Clarissa. Yeah. I remember. We went out a few times a while back when I moved to New Hampshire then we never saw each other again. Why ?” Tip was confused why a social worker wanted to know about an old hookup of his. “Clarissa died in a car crash this Wednesday…” the woman paused and Tip quickly panicked thinking they thought he had something to do with the car crash. He saw in that one tv show how easy it is to frame someone. “Oh…” he whispered. “You sure you never spoke to her after your breakup ?” the woman asked. Tip rubbed his eyes and let out a sigh “ No, we didn’t. After we decided that we shouldn’t see each other again I tried to call her to come to my friend’s bakery opening but she never answered my calls. I took the hint. She didn’t wanted to see me again. I understood.” He told the lady, that was the absolute truth there was no reason for him to lie to the social worker. “Why are you asking all this questions ?” he asked, if he was being framed for something he didn’t do he at least had the right to know. The woman took a deep breath before speaking again “I don’t know how to say this to you kid but… “ the lady took another deep breath “… she had a daughter and… you’re the father.” Tip’s mouth opened wide. No. This isn’t happening he thought. No. The boy stared blankly at the wall in front of him not knowing how to react. “Hello ?” the lady called out to check if he was still in line “Yeah. Yeah.” He managed to say. “I know this is a big shock for you but I need you to come by my office at 4 pm. It’s important. Bring some friends or family to help you.” Tips hung up and flew out of the bed. “Mel! Dash! Mel! Dash!” he screamed at the top of his lungs. He found the pain in the kitchen with their eyes wide open. “What happened ?” Mel asked setting the hand mixer down. “I just got a call from a social worker.” He sat down on the floor, he couldn’t feel his legs. “The lady said I had a daughter.” Mel’s mouth flew open. “Wh- What ? H-H-How ?! WHAT?” the girl was so confused, she looked at Dash “Get the cookies.”