“Happy birthday, Ryan,” I said.
“Wow,” he said, laughing. “You didn’t have to go this big.”
“Oh,” I said, “I really did.”
A little circle of people had formed around us. Coworkers.
Friends. His boss. A couple of our neighbors.
The DJ, sensing something was up, turned the music down.
“Open it,” I said.
He grinned, played it up, tugged on the bow, lifted the lid.
Inside was a stack of folders and one envelope on top, on crisp letterhead with the company logo.
He frowned.
“This isn’t very festive,” he joked weakly.
“Read it,” I said.
He opened the envelope.
I watched his eyes move back and forth across the page.
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