***before we begin the chapter, you need to know that Joe and Vanessa are 25***

Finally! The day is over! I don't have to be around my weird boss for 2 glorious days. When I get home, I expect to see Vanessa and Winston on the couch watching Game of Thrones yet again. However, I am wrong. When I walk in the door, I see Vanessa in the kitchen cooking something. I don't mind because she's a great cook. The aroma of whatever the heck she's making makes me forget what a weird day I had.
"Whatch ya makin, honey?" I ask.
"Roast beef, carrots, mashed potatoes, and biscuits," she replies.
What? I say in my mind. Sure, she likes to cook, she does it often. But this is like a feast! It's normally just hamburgers, hot dogs, or soup. What is this about?
"Uh, are we having guests or something?" I ask.
"Joe, we've been over this! My birthday is tomorrow so my mom, dad, Kelly, Travis, and Allison are coming over for dinner," she tells me

***Before we continue, you'll need to know that Kelly and Travis are Vanessa's siblings. Kelly is 22 and Travis is 29. Allison is Travis's wife.***

Her birthday. I forgot all about it! What am I gonna do? It's a big enough problem that Vanessa's parents hate me! They're not gonna like me any more when they realize I have no gift for their daughter!
"Uh, I'm gonna go to work," I say.
"Sweetheart, I know you've obviously been forgetting things lately, like the fact that we've talked about my family coming over," she says,
"But you just got home from work. Like, you literally haven't even put your coffee cup down yet."
"Uuuuuuuhhh," I start to say, not knowing what to do. "Yeah, I didn't forget that. I just remembered that I left my phone at work. And you know, I can't go 20 minutes without my Candy Crush!" I really don't like Candy Crush, but I need to get out of here.
"Whatever you say, honey," she says. I hope she's not suspicious. Now I walk out the door, coffee still in my hand, phone in my pocket (but Vanessa doesn't know that), and out into the car. Off to Kay jewelers to get Vanessa a necklace.