A Mass Hysteria In The Modern World

[Two days later - Keith's Birthday - Martena's POV]

Tre, Alice, Klaus and I walked into Billie and Alyssa's house for their son's first birthday. The living room was decorated in blue for a Bob The Builder theme. It actually came out really cute looking. In front of me, a train of little kids ran past and Keith had a blue party hat on his head. I laughed. Klaus walked in front of me and sat on the couch. There were a lot of people there, I had to push through some people in certain areas of the house. Mainly the kitchen and the back porch.

"Alyssa!" I called out, raising my arm. She saw me, put the bowl of candy down on the table and walked towards me. Of course, all the kids around her attacked the bowl once she walked away.

"Martena! You made it!" She said, giving me a hug. "Are Tre, Klaus, and Alice all here?"

"Yeah, though I have no clue where they all went. But Klaus is on the couch," I said. "It's a nice party though! Keith is going to be looking at a lot of presents when it's time to open them all."

Alyssa laughed. "Yeah, really. Billie and I didn't get to get him all that we wanted, but at least he's getting stuff. He's only one, he probably doesn't even understand what's going on."

[Billie's POV]

I roamed the house, going from group to group, until I eventually ran into Mike and Randi.

"Hey!" I said, attacking Mike. "I didn't even know you were coming!"

"Of course I was going to come!" He said, handing Jennifer to Randi. "Why would I miss it?"

"I don't know," I said, quietly. "We just haven't seen each other in so long, it's just... I miss it."

"Aw, Billie. You're getting all soft on Mike," Randi said.

"Whatever," I laughed. "He's my best friend."

[Alyssa's POV - 1 Hour Later]

"Keith! It's time to open your presents!" I said, grabbing my son. "Everyone! Go into the living room!"

Billie led everyone into the living room and had a little space set up for where Keith was going to be sitting. When I sat my son down on the carpet, we all began singing 'Happy Birthday.' Keith began to cry and I heard some 'awe's' in the crowd. Billie and I began to laugh.

"Keith!" I said, cooing him. "Say 'hi' to Mommy!" He smiled and I saw some people snap a picture of him. Abby handed him the first gift for him to open. Keith looked up at her like he didn't know what to do.

"Just tear it," Abby said. "Like this," and then she ripped a piece. Keith eventually got the idea and opened the present. It was a 'Bob the Builder' play set.

"That was from Aunt Randi and Uncle Mike!" Billie said. Keith put it down and grabbed the next biggest one. We all laughed. He couldn't get it over to him, so he crawled to it. He opened it and it was a bunch of small toys in a big cardboard box.

"That one was from your Grandma and Grandpa," I said, pointing to my parents. My mom was holding the video camera while my dad was next to her with his arms crossed.

The presents were all opened. Keith was happy. Billie, Martena, Tre, Randi, Mike, and I all cut up the giant cake and handed it out to everyone at the party. It was a mix of chocolate and white. Everyone loved it and said how good it was.

After the party ended, it was 11:00PM and we were wore out. Martena and Tre went home with their kids, while Mike, Randi, and Jennifer all stayed at our house for the night because it was a long drive home.

"You guys can sleep anywhere you want, we don't care," I said, holding my son who was about to fall asleep. Abby had already went upstairs and fallen asleep. "Do you want me to take Jennifer upstairs?"

"That'd be great," Randi told me. "Now move it, I need to change into my pajamas."

"Fine, fine. I'll see you in the morning," I said and walked upstairs. Billie was behind me, already dressed for bed. I put the two kids in Keith's room. His crib was big enough for the two of them. I turned the baby monitor on and put the sound sensitivity on high. I kissed them both on the head, said 'goodnight', and then went into the bedroom. I remembered to put the baby monitor volume on high.

"How was the party?" Billie asked me. "I thought it was pretty fun."

"Yeah," I sighed. "It was a lot of work though. I haven't cleaned up yet, so that's a long task for tomorrow."

"Don't worry, I'll help you with it."

I got dressed into my pajamas, turned the light off, then crawled into bed.

"Tonight was great. I can't believe our youngest is a year old already."

Billie pulled me over to him and had me lay my head on his chest.

"Are we getting old, Billie?"

"What? Of course not! We're only in our mid-30's! How could you possibly call that even close to old?" He said.

I shrugged. "I don't know, I just don't want time to go by so fast."

Silence was between him and I now. I was beginning to doze off.

"Goodnight, Billie. I love you."

"I love you, too."

I fell asleep right after I heard him.