A Love to Live For by Nikita Heart Page B

very tired, I felt happy and proud of what I had accomplished.
    Most of all, I couldn’t wait to see the surprised and amazed look on Joseph’s face when he walked into his birthday party.
     
    “What’s going on, Rebecca?” Joseph asked as I pulled him out of the car and led him towards the auditorium in a blindfold. “I noticed you’ve been acting strange lately, but now, you’re really scaring me.”
    “There’s nothing to be scared of,” I assured him. “It’s just a little something I put together just for you.”
    “You didn’t have to.”
    “But I wanted to,” I told him.
    He stopped walking. “Rebecca, I don’t think…”
    “Don’t think,” I told him. “Just come with me. Please?”
    He was still for a moment, then nodded. We walked the rest of the way to the auditorium in silence. Then, when we arrived at the entrance, I led him past the doors and took off his blindfold.
    “Surprise!” I shouted along with everyone.
    The resulting look on Joseph’s face, however, was not what I had expected.
    He looked around the auditorium with more shock than surprise and when that faded, I sensed his frustration, his anger even, although he tried not to show it and smiled as he greeted his guests.
    I was annoyed, of course, that he didn’t seem to appreciate all of the time and money I had spent just to come up with the surprise party, but I told myself he was probably just a little embarrassed by it all and that he would eventually come to his senses. When that happened, he would thank me for everything with tears of joy and everything would be worthwhile.
    Yes, I would simply wait for the whole thing to sink in and for him to realize just how hard I had worked to make the whole party happen, and then everything would be perfect. Or so I thought.
    After a few minutes, it was clear that he was not about to break into tears of joy or even hug me in appreciation. It seemed as if he was avoiding me, in fact. And when his parents arrived, things got worse.
    As soon as he saw them, he approached them and at first, I rejoiced, thinking that he was going to hug them or at least, thank them for coming, but then, I noticed his expression and I knew trouble was brewing, which was I quickly ran after him, though not quickly enough.
    “What are the two of you doing here?” he asked them, sneering.
    “Happy birthday, Joseph,” his mother said with a smile, ignoring his rude greeting. She moved to hug him but he stepped away.
    “I asked what you were doing here.”
    “But we were invited to your birthday,” his mother said.
    “By who?” Joseph asked.
    “By me,” I said, stepping forward. “I thought it might be a good idea for you them to see you and for you to…”
    “Well, it’s not a good idea,” he cut me off, the contempt in his voice now directed at me. “None of this is.”
    He walked out the door and after telling everyone to continue with the party and reassuring his parents that everything would be alright, I ran after Joseph, finding him sitting at the bench under a tree with his hand clasped to his forehead.
    “Joseph…”
    “You just had to do it, didn’t you?” he sneered at me. “You just had to meddle with my life and throw a big, silly party for me. And as if that’s not enough, you went ahead and invited my parents. What on earth were you thinking?”
    “Well, pardon me for thinking a big, silly party would do you some good,” I told him, trying to control the anger that was surging inside me. “Did you think I did all this for myself? That I spent all this money and worked so many late nights just for my own sake? I did all of this for you.”
    “And I never asked you to,” Joseph said. “Don’t you get it? You’re being selfish again, throwing a party for me just because it would make you happy.”
    “I did not throw this party to make me happy,” I said, my voice and my temper rising. “I threw this party so that you would be happy.”
    “Well, I’m