PN: This is the continuation of Part 3.

I admit, I am not one of those guys who are good with dates. When someone tells me a date of birth you could almost be certain that I would forget the day the next day if I'm lucky -ok, give it an hour instead. It's not that I don't care but maybe I'm not too fond of the feeling of being special - I don't know. I guess that's why my brother and my closest friends got used to calling me an idiot because of flaws like this one.

Anyway, one day the four of us exchanged birth days. Obviously, I forgot everyone's especial day right away -except mine. You idiot! However, Jana kept everyone's birthday and made sure he had something for that person on his or her day.

He is the kind of person that if you did a favor, he would return that favor twice in some other forms. If you dropped him off the airport, he'd get you something in return right away and he won't take a "NO" for an answer. There was one time he gave me a movie card and I told him, "Hey man. I did that for you in free will. I'm not expecting anything in return". He answered, "The gift is not for you. It's for Cherie". If it wasn't for Cherie, it was for the kids. I think you get it.

Kelly's birthday was coming and her daughters, who became friends as well, were planning a surprise party. All we had to do was to show up in some local bar in Ladysmith. Jana picked me up during the big night and we hit the road. It's about an hour drive due North. On our way Jana and I talked about our favorite subjects, politics, cars, technology, what ifs, and what not. About an hour later, he pulled over on the address he had written and the parked his truck beside a building which seemed to be a big hall . We could hear some Hawaiian music playing and people cheering from the the nearby door where Jana had parked the vehicle. "This must be it!", I exclaimed while rubbing my palms together with a glee on my face. "It looks like it", Jana answered while we head to the door. As we got in, the room was packed with people and it was unusually dark with only the spotlights lit and aimed at these two gorgeous women belly dancing. Jana and I looked at each other as if we could almost read each others minds  saying "I hope this is it". We were speechless for a brief moment while our eyes were stuck on the stage. Then I finally gained my senses back. I asked one of the guys in the crowd, "Is this Kelly's birthday party"? The guys says, "No", and he mentioned a name of an event that I didn't understand. The "No" was all I needed. I looked at Jana and shook my head and then we stepped out.

We looked around the building and noticed a group of people getting out of a place that looked more like a pub. We went in and there we saw familiar faces. By the entrance pictures of Kelly were displayed. She even had this poster size picture taken when she was about 3 wearing some cowboy boot I believe. It was cute. Her daughters definitely pulled it off. A guy was playing the piano while other sang in to the tune. Others were dancing. Jana on the other hand started telling everyone on how we got lost and almost didn't want to leave the other place. Everyone was laughing at us. Finally, we felt like are part of the event.

PN: This is the continuation of Part 2.

Kelly and Susanna are two of the most senior employees at work. They both know the technical aspects of the business inside out. They are my mentors that became good friends. When Jana joined our team, our fellowship became much stronger.

Days, weeks, and months have come and gone. Jana had become a really close friend. We would always wait for each other when we go for coffee breaks in the morning or the afternoon. In the morning, Kelly and Susanna would often join us. Even before getting out of the building Jana would start making his funny comments that kept everyone laughing.

At the coffee shop, my girlfriend, I mean my wife Cherie would be sitting by one of the larger tables that she had reserved for us. She'd often wait for us there after dropping off Jeremy and Jacob, our 2 boys, at school in the morning. We would take turns covering the bill for the steeped and honey lemon teas and 1-1-1 and 2-2 coffees. Even at Timmy's, Jana would make conversations with the staff as if he knew everyone there. As we approached our table he would ask Cherie which of the guys she's been checking out at the shop. I in turn would make that Robert De Niro's "I'm watching you." fingers to eyes motion. We'd stay there for about 15 minutes talking just about anything but most of the time, it was about work, or was it?