THE BIRTHDAY GIFT Kathryn was standing there on the patio, hearing the music of the party inside the home of her parents. She walked further out into the rose garden to escape the noise. Taking a deep breath, she inhaled the scent of roses and looked up. The night sky was blanketed with stars so bright it appeared she could almost reach up and touch them. In the distance, she could hear the barking of a neighbor’s dog. Walking over to a bench she sat down, removed her shoes and rubbed her aching feet. She will never get used to wearing high heels. Her long flowing royal blue evening gown was quite modest, yet draped over one shoulder giving it an elegant look, but at this moment she wished she had remembered her shawl for the evening air had a slight chill to it. Replacing her shoes, she sighed and stood to go, almost bumping into something hard. As she stepped back to get a look at who she bumped into her hands flew to her mouth. “Jonathan, I thought you were in the ...