It was great because Aless and Danny never really argued.  They would have silent disagreements in which both wouldn’t say anything and would just pout.  Aless knew it was immature, but she hated the idea of yelling at Danny. The only true area of conflict they had was Aless’s dad.  Danny hated that Aaron was never around

 “It’s like you live by yourself!” he snapped one night when he came over for dinner.

 It was supposed to be the night he and Aaron finally met, but Aaron had called last minute and canceled. Aless couldn’t totally blame Danny for being upset.  It was the fifth time that Aaron had canceled dinner with Aless and Danny.

“I mean I cleared this evening, so I could meet him.  Doesn’t he care who you’re dating?”

“Why are you getting so worked up over this?  It’s not a big deal.  He will make it up to us. He said it was urgent,” Aless instantly defended her father.

“Everything is urgent with him, except his family!  You could disappear from the face of the earth and he wouldn’t notice!”

“Danny!  That is not fair!  My father loves me. He is just busy with work.  It’s not easy being a single parent and running a business. If I can accept it so should you.”

“It’s just not right, Aless! You shouldn’t be home alone so much!  It isn’t safe.”

“What are you complaining about?  You get to stay over whenever you want.  You don’t have to deal with my parents and we get plenty of privacy.”

“I do enjoy that, but it’s not the point!  The point is that you are always alone!  Don’t you get that?  You are always alone!”

Aless felt tears brimming her eyes, but Danny had never seen her cry, so she just narrowed them and frowned. 

“You’re right.  I am always alone.  But I’m okay with that.  I like being alone.   So you can just leave! I don’t need you being here out of pity and you are going to leave eventually anyway!”

Turning on her heels, Aless stormed out of the room.  Slamming her bedroom door shut, Aless fell onto her bed and just laid there.  She didn’t cry, but she felt like it.  So what if she was alone. Alessandra had been alone before Danny came and she would be alone again when he left. 

After about ten minutes, Aless heard the soft rapping on my bedroom door. 

“Aless?” Danny’s voice whispered.  She didn’t lookup. 

Soft footsteps approached her bed. They stopped and Aless could feel him standing over her.  Staying still, Aless kept her back turned to him.  His hand caressed her hair tenderly. Still, she didn’t move.

“Aless, I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have said anything.  I know how important your dad is to you.  But you should also know that I’m not going anywhere.  I won’t leave you.  I promise.”

He sat on the edge of the bed and Aless moved over a little for him even though she still didn’t look at him.  Crawling next to her, Danny wrapped his arms around Alessandra and kissed the nape of her neck.  Eventually, Aless allowed him to pull her close and she could feel his breath on her ear.

“I love you, Alessandra, and I’m not going anywhere,” he whispered sweetly.

That was the first time Danny had ever told Aless that he loved her.  A feeling of both pain and delight exploded in her chest.  More than anything she wanted to believe him, but Aless couldn’t ignore a gnawing feeling in her gut.

“I love you too,” she whispered.

“I’m sorry I yelled,” he said.

“I’m sorry I yelled.”

“I guess this was our first big fight, huh?”

“Yeah, it was.”

“And the first time we have said I love you.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I guess we are a real couple now.”

“We weren’t before?”

“No, we were, but now we are even more of a real couple. We can handle anything now.”

Turning to face him, Aless looked into his warm eyes, the moonlight filtering through her window illuminating his Josӕng.  He was so handsome and so kind. 

“You are right.”

“Of course, I am.”

Kissing her gently, Danny held Aless against his chest. Breathing in his scent, Aless realized she did love him very much.  The idea terrified her, and she couldn’t help but feel that terrible gnawing in her stomach that told her something bad was going to happen.  Suppressing the sensation, Aless took a deep breath and let herself fall into her feelings of love.  What else could she do but learn to trust him?  He promised he wouldn’t leave, so Danny wouldn’t leave, she assured herself. Technically, Aless hadn’t been wrong.

 As her birthday continued to draw closer, Alessandra realized that her feeling of foreboding was unfounded.  Danny and Aless were happy together.  Nothing and no one came between.  With time Danny’s overprotective nature and jealousy eased up and Aless felt that could trust Danny not to leave her.  It was the first time in over ten years Aless didn’t feel alone. She didn’t even mind that her father was never around because she had Danny.

Just before her birthday, Aless discovered that Kay would be out of town with her parents.  Without Kay around, Aless didn’t see the point of going out and partying. She could go out with Danny, but it didn’t feel the same. Eighteen was such an important birthday, she really wanted it to be special. In her heart, Alessandra knew what she wanted, yet she was scared to ask for it.  Two weeks before her birthday, she decided to grab the Cąȶ’s whiskers and ask for what she wanted. Building up her courage, she approached her dad on one of the few nights he was home.

“Dad,” she said timidly.

“Yes?” He asked.

Aaron did not look up from the paperwork he was reading.  Hunched over his desk, Aaron was buried in his work even at home.

“My eighteenth birthday is coming up in two weeks,” she said.

“Really? Is that soon?”

“Yes.  Remember my birthday is the last day of the Golden Moon Month.”

“I know when your birthday is, Catherine.  I just didn’t realize that it was so late in the month.”

Shuffling his papers, Aaron let out a sigh of annoyance.  Shift from foot to foot, Aless couldn’t believe how uncomfortable her father made her.

“Well, I was hoping we could spend it together.  You know a father-daughter night.”

“That should be fine.”

“Are you sure? I know that you have a lot of work lately…”

“My big business deal should be done earlier that week, so I can take a night off.  It is your eighteenth birthday after all.”

“Wow, thank you, dad!”

Frowning at Aless, Aaron finally looked up from his papers.

“Why do you sound so surprised?”

“I…It’s just…I don’t know.  I just thought you wouldn’t be able to.”

“That silly.  Of course, I would be there for your birthday.  You act like I’m never around for your birthday.”

Saying nothing, Aless didn’t have the heart to point out that she had spent the last seven birthdays with her friends or alone. 

“We can go out somewhere nice to eat.  I’ll buy you your first drink,” he continued.

“That would be nice, dad, but how about we just have a night in.  I can cook and we can just have a nice quiet night together.”

“Why?  Don’t you want to go out to a nice dinner?  I can take you to Flӕme. You can dress up nice for once.”

Forcing a smile, Alessandra nodded.  She hated going to fancy restaurants, especially with her dad.  They usually ran into someone he knew from business and then he would spend most of the night talking to them.  In the stifling environment, Aless and Aaron rarely talked because Aless was afraid of talking too loud.  Yet it was clear that it was what Aaron wanted. 

“Okay,” Aless agreed.

“Do you want to invite that boyfriend of yours?”

“No, I would like it just to be the two of us.”

“Good.  I would prefer that too.  I thought I would offer though.”

With that, he turned back to his work and Alessandra knew the conversation was over.  Exiting the room, she called Danny and told him their plans.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Danny asked. “You know he isn’t great about keeping plans.”

“Danny,” Aless said warningly.  “It is my eighteenth birthday.  My dad wouldn’t miss that.”

“But Aless, he…” Danny trailed off.

The tension from Aless’s side of the phone was palpable.  Deciding it was better to say nothing, Danny said, “It sounds like it will be a nice birthday.  I hope you take a picture for me so I can see you all dressed up.”

“Of course, I will. This way you can also go camping with DJ like you wanted.”

“Hey, I would skip that camping trip in a heartbeat for you.”

“I know you would but this way I can spend some time with my dad and you can have a guys' weekend.  We can celebrate my birthday the next weekend. It will be the best of both worlds.”

“That is true.  If you are sure about this, then I’ll tell DJ I am in for the trip.”

“I am sure.  Will I be seeing you tonight?”

“Yes, my love.  I will pick you up around seven.”

“Can’t wait.”

Hanging up the phone, Alessandra thought for a moment then went upstairs.  She had to see if she had any clothes nice enough for Flӕme. If she didn’t, Aless knew she had to go shopping.  As it turns out, Aless did have to go shopping for a new dress.  Kay and Aless spent the next two weeks looking for the perfect dress.  They finally found a gold-shimmery dress with red birds embroidered on the skirt that appeared to be flying when she moved.  It was gorgeous and perfect for her eighteenth birthday. 

The day of her eighteenth birthday, which landed on a Letears, Alessandra woke early to see Danny before he left on his trip.  They kissed and hugged as they said goodbye.  Danny gave Aless her birthday gift, which turned out to be a delicate crescent, almost identical to his Josӕng.  It was made of gold and blue metal that felt warm to the touch.

“Danny, it's amazing,” Alessandra gasped in awe.

“It’s made from sun-metal.  That’s why it feels warm,” he smiled.

“I have seen sun-metal in the stores, but I never had jewelry made of it.  I thought it was mostly used for machines, like car parts and insulators.”

“It is but I had some scraps from the garage and I thought it would make a pretty necklace.”

“It does.  Thank you so much.  I love it!”

Aless threw her arms around Danny, hugging him tightly. 

“Good. I’m glad.  I designed it after my Josӕng so it's like I’m always watching over you.”

Beaming, Aless kissed Danny.  Her heart banged around her chest and she felt light-headed.  What had she ever done to deserve him?  They spent a few more minutes kissing before Aless had to let Danny leave. 

“Remember you promised not to take off the necklace,” Danny said from his open car window.  “I won’t have any signal in the mountains so I will feel better knowing you will keep my necklace on.”

“I told you I promise,” Aless laughed. “Go have fun.”

“Happy birthday, Alessandra.  I love you.”

“I love you too.

With the final farewell, Danny drove off.  Climbing into her own car, Aless headed back for home.  At home, Aless had discovered her father had already left for work.  He had said he would be home by six-thirty and they had reservations at eight.  Since school had let out on Solstice break, Aless had no homework to do.  Biting her lip, Aless tried to decide what to do for the day.  Going upstairs, Aless stared at her dress, which she had hung on her bathroom door, allowing any wrinkles to straighten out.  The dress was so elegant that Aless thought she may be too plain for it. Bringing a finger to her mouth, Aless almost chewed on her nail when she suddenly stopped.  Studying her nails, Aless saw that the gloss she had put on over a month ago was almost completely gone, making her long nails look shabby and rough-edged.  Looking between the dress and her nails, Aless realized that she couldn’t wear such an elegant dress with trashy nails.

“Well, I know what I am going to do today,” Aless said out loud to herself.

Grabbing her purse, Aless left to get her nails done.  Once at the parlor, Aless decided to spoil herself with a full spa day. She got a manicure, pedicure, massage, hair cut, and eyebrow waxing.  After over four hours, Aless felt pampered and ready to go home.  On the drive home, Aless examined her nails again and again.  They were glossed a mesmerizing gold, the same color as her dress, with small sparkling onyx chips on each nail.  Never before had Alessandra had such beautiful nails.  Normally, Aless thought such things were a waste of money but it was her eighteenth birthday and it was the first birthday she would spend with her father in close to a decade.  It was worth it. 

At home, Aless had a late lunch then watched some TV.  Around five, she began to shower and prepare for her dinner.  Aless wanted to show her father that she had become a young lady, one he could be proud of.  Her phone buzzed at six with a dm from her father.  He was going to be a little late.  No problem.  At least he let her know this time.  By seven-thirty, Aless was dressed in everything but her dress.  She slipped into her dress and a new pair of stiletto heels at seven-forty five. Carefully, Aless made her way downstairs and waited by the door.  Her father said they would go straight to dinner since he would already be in a suit from work.  Gnawing on her lip, Aless split her attention between the door and the view of the driveway through the front window.  If she saw her dad’s car coming up the driveway, Aless could just leave the house and meet him in the driveway.

Eight came and went.  To entertain herself, Aless took a few photos in front of a mirror and sent them to Danny.  She knew he wouldn’t get them until he came down from the mountains, but at least he would have a nice surprise then.  At eight-twenty, Aless called her dad.  His phone rang several times, but he didn’t pick up.  Beginning to pace, Aless felt her stomach wrap up in knots.  Compulsively, she stroked the pendant Danny had given her.  Eight-thirty. Eight-fifty.  Nine. 

Every sound outside made Aless jump to look out the window, but it was always nothing.  Just as the silence of the house began to oppress her, Aless’s phone began to ring.  Snatching it, Aless saw it was her father.  Answering it quickly, Aless held her breath as she spoke.

“Are you okay, daddy?” she asked.  “Are you near?  Even though we missed our reservation, I am sure we can still get a table.  They know you at Flӕme after all.”

Opening the front door, Aless looked outside for her father’s car.

“Catherine,” her father’s voice cut in. “I can’t leave the office tonight.  The big deal we were working on just fell through.  It’s a complete disaster.”

Pulling her head back into the house, Aless hung her head as she made her way to the kitchen.

“Oh, I understand.”

“I knew you would. I am having the gift I bought you sent over.  I probably won’t be home until Pumic.”

“Oh okay. I…”

“I have to go, Catherine. I’ll call when I can.