Chapter 179: Mikaela’s Birthday - Part 3

"All right everyone, dinner is out in the front yard," announced Edward.

The party proceeded outside, where two large catering tables had been set up under a white canopy, and enclosed with white tent walls to keep most of the elements out.

The tables were loaded with an enormous platter of steak, a large bowl of mashed potatoes, a platter of roasted vegetables, and a large basket of bread.

The table places had white folded serviettes, placed next to a setting that had a large white porcelain dinner plate, and a smaller salad plate.

Gleaming silver forks, knives and spoons were placed on either side of the main dinner plate.

Above each setting, was a folded card which had the guest name, handwritten by Mikaela.

The tables and chairs were covered in white cloth, and large LED bulbs hanging from the canopy bathed the area in a warm yellow light, creating an opulent and elegant atmosphere.

"This looks amazing," said Adelaide, as she and William took their seats.

"Oh, this looks divine! I’m starving," said Alexandria, as she and Natsumi entered the canopy.

"How’s mom, Dr. Kitagawa?" asked Mikaela.

"She’s all right, all things considered," said Natsumi, and Mikaela visibly relaxed.

"I get that Daddy doesn’t like Mom anymore, but I’m still worried about her," said Mikaela.

"Well, don’t worry sweetie. She’s all right for now. Just sleeping off a lot of wine," said Alexandria.

"OK," said Mikaela.

"Mikaela, can I switch places? Adelaide and Yasmin are rubbing it in my face that I don’t have a date," asked Yue, discreetly gesturing to the table, where Yasmin was playfully feeding a slightly nervous Sadiq, and a blushing Adelaide was getting fed by William.

"OK. How about you sit next to me, and we’ll keep Dr. Alexandria, and Dr. Kitagawa opposite, and Daddy and Mr. Yamamoto on either side," said Mikaela, with a sympathetic smile.

"Thanks," said Yue, and Mikaela whispered the new seating arrangement in Edward’s ear.

"I’ll handle it," chuckled Edward, and he shifted the place cards, so that he was sitting between Sadiq and William, while Ruth and Maria were sitting opposite them.

He then rearranged Mikaela’s Yue’s Ivan’s and Hajime’s place cards, to Mikaela’s requested lineup.

Adelaide and Yasmin seemed oblivious, but the adults all chuckled good-naturedly and changed places.

"Better?" asked Mikaela, as Yue sat down next to her.

"Yeah. I’d have brought Axel as my plus-one if he was here," sighed Yue.

"You really like him, don’t you?" chuckled Mikaela.

"Yes. I know he’s much older than me, but I don’t know, there’s something about him that makes my heart race," said Yue, a dreamy look on her face.

"Patience, Yue. And I told you to give boys closer to your age a chance," said Hajime.

"William and Sadiq are rare specimens, even in St. Ignatius Father. It’s not that easy to find boys like that," grumbled Yue.

"I have confidence that St. Ignatius will soon make men out of the boys they have, so don’t fret on that front. All I ask is you keep an open mind," replied Hajime.

"I didn’t catch everything, but I’m sure your Father means well," said Mikaela, as Yue pouted.

"Oh, my apologies Mikaela. I slipped into Japanese. I was simply telling Yue to keep an open mind, and not keep pining for Axel. It’s not that I don’t like him. Quite the contrary. I just want her to wait and approach him from a place of maturity, if she is set on him," said Hajime, gently patting Yue on the head.

"And I’d like you to stop treating me like a child! If this were the Old Japan, I’d be married to him by now," grumbled Yue.

"Fine. If an Edo period style courtship ritual and wedding that is what you truly want, I’ll approach Friedrich and Alexandria with a formal marriage alliance proposal. I wonder what kind of tests of courage I should put young Axel through. Since he builds cars, let’s have him prove his mettle by drifting one of his creations down Mt. Haruna. If he can survive that, then he is truly worthy of your hand. What do you say Dr. Alexandria?" asked Hajime, bringing Alexandria, who was sitting opposite him into the conversation.

"If my dear nephew Axel has to risk drifting down Mt. Haruna, then your Yue will have to at least live up to my culinary standards. As they say, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach," chuckled Alexandria, as Yue squirmed and blushed.

"Fine I’ll wait. But it would be nice to have him around once in a while," grumbled Yue, accepting defeat.

"Actually Yue, those terms sound fairly reasonable. I think you should accept them," said Mikaela, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

"What?" asked Alexandria and Hajime in unison.

"Think about it. If Axel is as smart as you tell me he is, then any of his cars can easily conquer a measly mountain pass, and Dr. Alexandria has just given you a challenge to cook," said Mikaela.

"I... can’t cook. The idea of handling raw meat makes me sick. And Axel’s favorite dish is roasted venison," mumbled Yue, now blushing crimson.

"Regardless of that, Yue. We both just want you to enjoy being a girl for now. Axel will still be there by the time you turn 18," said Alexandria gently.

"And that gives you plenty of time to get over your phobia. I can help you with that," said Mikaela.

"Thanks, Mikaela. This has actually made me realize that I need to work on myself to get Axel as well," said Yue.

"What about you, Mikaela? Have you met a boy that has caught your eye yet?" asked Natsumi.

"No. Besides, I’m still younger than Yue and the others," said Mikaela.

"Well, you still must have standards and expectations right? Yue here, likes Axel because he is smart, caring and considerate. Adelaide initially dismissed William as an awkward nerd, until he impressed her in a school debate, and Yasmin likes Sadiq because he’s smart and likes her for who she is, regardless that her father is a head of state. So what about you?" asked Alexandria.

"Hmm. I haven’t really thought about it. I haven’t really talked to any of the boys in Boston Public, and they haven’t approached me either. The only boys, or rather men I know, are Daddy, Mr. Stanislaus, and Captain Hawkins," said Mikaela.

"I suppose that’s true," conceded Alexandria.

"I’m sure you’ll find some nice boy in St. Ignatius, Princess," said Ivan.

"What if he’s older than me, like Yue and Axel, Daddy?" asked Mikaela impishly.

"In that case, I’m setting the same rules as Mr. Yamamoto. No shenanigans until you’re 18. Plus, I’ll need to like him as well," said Ivan.

"Yes, sir," chuckled Mikaela.

"In that case you’ve got a problem, Ivan. You’ve already given Mikaela full control over a huge chunk of alimony checks. She doesn’t have to follow your rules," said Natsumi.

"That’s not a problem, Dr. Kitagawa. I listen to Daddy because he explains why he says no to something. He wants me to grow just like Mr. Yamamoto wants Yue to grow," said Mikaela with a shrug.

"Ugh! I keep forgetting how damn smart you are sometimes. It’s honestly a little scary," sighed Natsumi.

"Join the club, Doctor. I’m honestly going to miss you at Boston Public Mikaela," said Maria.

"I know. I’m going to miss you too, Ms. Washington. You’re the best teacher I’ve had," said Mikaela.

---

Mikaela came down the stairs the next morning, to find Stefan and Anna sitting in the living room.

Anna was subdued, and her short-cropped hair clashed awkwardly with the pale pink dress that she was wearing.

"Hi, Mikaela, happy belated birthday. I’m sorry we couldn’t make it yesterday," said Stefan.

"Thanks, Mr. Stanislaus," said Mikaela, silently grateful that she had made the decision to properly shower and change into a black dress, pantyhose and heels before coming down the stairs.

"Hey, Mikaela. Happy belated birthday. And I owe you an apology. I haven’t been myself for a while, and while I know you’re moving on, I’d like us to still be friends," said Anna, standing up.

"Apology accepted, Anna. I’d like us to be friends too," said Mikaela, and the two girls hugged tenderly.

"I’m actually glad to have you back as Anna," said Mikaela, shuddering a little with emotion as she realized that she had terribly missed the dynamic they had back in the first to fourth grades.

"Me too. It feels like this past year was a really long nightmare," said Anna, choking back sobs.

"So, what happened?" asked Mikaela, finally letting go of Anna, and sitting down on the living room couch, opposite Anna and Stefan.

"Some things are still a bit foggy, but I’ll try and explain. After my mom died last year, I felt really sad, despite Daddy trying to cheer me up. When you told me about the fights you were having with your mom, It just made me mad. You still had a mom, and you were not listening to her, so I thought I’d be the one who listened," began Anna, her eyes downcast, as Stefan gently rubbed her shoulder.

"So that’s why you started the teacher’s pet act?" asked Mikaela.

"Yeah, and for a while it felt nice to have Ms. Petra hug me, and be so nice to me. Part of me wanted to show you how to make her treat you nicely, but another part of me was like, telling me to just enjoy it and mess with you. So sorry," mumbled Anna, now shedding silent tears.

"Anna, it’s OK. I should have been more considerate, given that your mom had died," said Mikaela, now feeling a pang of guilt for the way she had fought with Anna.

"Part of it was my fault as well, Mikaela. I was so busy with the custody stuff between your mom and dad, that I didn’t have enough time for Anna. Even though you told me to spend more time with her back when you first asked me to set up visitation," said Stefan.

"Anyway, then I found out about periods, and it scared the shit out of me. I didn’t want to deal with them, so I tried to find ways to make them stop. That’s when I remembered Sky, our second grade teacher who used to say they were neither a boy nor a girl. So I tried to contact them," said Anna.

"You didn’t! Don’t you remember how mean she was to me?" asked Mikaela.

"I know, I’m sorry. Anyway, they sent me a bunch of stuff about identity and that’s when I thought I’d be non-binary as well," said Anna, looking forlornly at her hands in her lap.

"OK, why are you telling me all this?" asked Mikaela.

"I feel that I need to. I should have told you about this stuff while it was happening, but I was too... I don’t know confused, so I’m telling you now. Please, it’s helping me," said Anna.

"OK, go on," said Mikaela.

"Sky told me about gender-affirming care, and about hormone blockers. I asked Ester if she knew about them, and she helped me get pills for it. Those pills turned out to be fake, and so Daddy had to take me to the hospital yesterday, and that’s why I missed the party. So, I’m sorry OK?" said Anna, her eyes wet with tears.

"Anna, you didn’t have to tell me all that, but I’m happy that you did. I’m sorry too. I should have been there for you while you were going through all that," said Mikaela, starting to cry as well.

Anna stood and stepped forward with her arms spread.

"I missed you so much!" she sobbed.

"I missed you too!" sobbed Mikaela, standing up, and they hugged fiercely again.

"Why don’t you transfer to St. Ignatius too? We can be there together," said Mikaela, after what felt like an eternity of them standing and hugging.

"Daddy is taking me to Rome for a year-long vacation. Maybe I’ll join you in the 7th grade," said Anna, gently pulling away.

"Ooh, that sounds nice. After what you’ve told me, I feel you really need that," said Mikaela.

"Yeah, and hopefully those pills don’t stop my hair from growing. I can’t bear to look at myself in the mirror with this short-ass haircut," said Anna, with a shudder.

"You could get a wig," pointed out Mikaela.

"Nah, I’ll just let my hair grow out the normal way, plus help it along with plenty of shampoo," said Anna.

"Well, how about some birthday cake? There is still some left over. Oh, but it isn’t vegan," said Mikaela.

"I’m off that vegan diet. Gimme some cake," said Anna.

"Coming right up," giggled Mikaela, going to the kitchen.