751 Happy Birthday Uncle Tony (1/2)

Nottingham Forest was drawn into the ”group of death.” It became another conspiracy that the UEFA targeted Tony Twain and his team under the English media's rendering. Although none of the media, which solemnly vowed, were able to produce solid evidence, the readers liked the angle.

The Sun reasonably put it another way.

”With Guardiola and his Barcelona team, they no longer needed to rely on Tony Twain's team to reach the knockout stage to secure the biggest commercial advantage for the Champions League tournament. Even in the group stage, they still want to squeeze the last bit of value from Twain. They grouped Nottingham Forest and Juventus together, so the feud from two seasons ago will continue to play out this season. The media and spectators like to watch such a strong showdown.”

In his column, Twain stuck to the viewpoint he had already told the media: the death group was not the group of death for him and the Forest team, but the group of death for the other three teams.

He did not care much about the group of death that the media hotly hyped about. The top priority for the moment was to go home and spend his birthday with Shania. She had been in America for some and had come back because of his birthday.

Twain loved his job, but he now cherished time with Shania even more. People who had died once could get over certain matters very quickly, but they often became more strongly attached to some things compared to before.

※※※

While Twain was still in Monte Carlo, Monaco, for the Champions League draw, Shania had quietly returned to their home in Mapperley Park, Nottingham.

She seemed a little distracted in Los Angeles lately, both at work and in her studies. Her agent, Mr. Fasal, found her out of character. When he thought about it again, he knew it must have something to do with Twain's birthday, so he was not too concerned. It was a matter between the couple. It was inappropriate for an outsider like him to speak.

What caused Shania to behave out of character was actually related to Tony Twain's birthday. She was worried about what birthday present she should give him.

On his 40th birthday, Shania had given him a car. It was an expensive gift that Twain had told her not to give again in the future. Although he liked the car very much and had been driving it, it was rather awkward for him as a man that his young wife had bought a car for him. He could not let outsiders think that he was a guy who lived off a woman.

Consequently, on Shania's birthday, Twain returned with a gift of an adorable Beetle. The two people were considered even.

So, what would be the best thing that Shania could give now? It was a real difficulty to give a gift to her sweetheart. Twain had almost no other hobbies since he had given up smoking and drinking.

Shania had gone to Gloria to come up with ideas.

The woman who circulated in the men's circles all the time but kept her hands clean, said with a smile, ”You should give whatever you think is missing in your life.”

Shania began to wrack her brains to think about what was missing from her life with Tony. They had almost everything they could want. The financial crisis impacted the wealthy less than imagined and even less so on the hard-working rich. Materially, she could not think of what was missing.

In terms of spirit...

She felt too lonely in Los Angeles and believed that he felt the same way in Nottingham alone. Could it be that she or one of them had to end their work and be devoted to accompanying the other person? Shania didn't think either she or Tony was like that.

What was missing the most...

She worried about it for several days. On the last day before returning to England, Mr. Fasal, who was sending her off, suddenly made her understand what was most missing with a jest.

In the car on the way to the airport, Fasal teased about Shania and Twain while he drove. ”Jordie, you and Tony have been married for more than a year, when will I see your baby?”

It was said in jest, but it stirred Shania's mind. It would not have occurred to her if other people had not mentioned it. She had been married to Tony for more than a year, and they made love almost every day they were together. They did not use any contraception, but her body just did not respond.

She suddenly thought of the best birthday present she should give him. She wanted to successfully conceive on his birthday. It was more valuable to give Tony a child as a gift.

Shania was so proud of her idea that she smiled in the car. Fasal was surprised to see her smiling in the rearview mirror.

”It's nothing, Mr. Fasal,” she said. ”It just occurred to me what the best gift to give Tony is.”

※※※

In fact, time was very tight for Twain. The Champions League draw ceremony took place on the evening of Sept. 8, which as followed by a dinner reception for the coaches. It went on late into the night, so he could only return early the next morning in order to catch up with Shania to spend his birthday with her.

When the travel-worn Twain rushed home, he saw Shania in the living room as he'd hoped.

”Safe on the base.” Shania gestured like a baseball referee.

Twain leaned against the door frame, breathed a sigh of relief, and laughed. ”You're thinner than before, Shania.”

”Staying in shape is a must for models.” Shania walked over with her catwalk and tried to tease him. ”Happy birthday!”

Twain hugged her and gave her welcome kiss but did not immediately respond to her teasing. He was concerned about another question, ”We still have half a day left, and I don't want to spend the time in bed, Shania. Let's go out and have some fun, shall we?”

Shania had to let go and shrugged, ”OK, but I'll state first that we're having dinner at home.”

”Have you learned to cook any good dishes?” Twain asked with a wry smile.

For Shania, the greatest pleasure in family life was to learn to cook from people everywhere and use Twain's mouth and stomach as a laboratory. Although her cooking had improved slightly over the years, generally speaking, most of what she cooked was actually inedible.

Shania did not answer. She only giggled and looked mysterious.

”Where are we going to go have fun?” she asked.

”Anywhere, we can go shopping,” Twain said. ”Aren't you going to give me a gift?”

”Well...” Shania's dark eyes turned. She said, ”OK! What kind of gift do you want?”

Twain was stumped by the question. He really did not know what he wanted, so he coughed and said, ”As long as it's from you, anything will do!”

”That's half-hearted!” Shania rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm, ”Let's out for lunch!”