Lena did text Samuel back when he messaged her to make sure that she had gotten home safely, he however hadn't seen it until the next morning because it came at a rather late time of night. He wasn't sure if that was because she had just seen his message or if she really did end up getting back home that late?

He had been up rather late the prior night himself. After his extended family had left, things ended up relaxing a bit more and he really enjoyed the rest of his birthday party with his friends and parents. Dinner and cake were even more amazing than he had expected them to be. He couldn't thank his mom enough for all the effort she had gone in making it for him.

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The only thing that would've made it better for him was if he had been able to sleeping in more the following morning considering how late everyone was up for the previous night. However, he couldn't because his grandparents were impatient to celebrate with him and his grandmother had gone to the trouble of making her own cake and birthday breakfast that neither he nor his parents could make them wait any longer than the drive up there took.

His younger siblings were upset that they didn't get to since they had school that day, but Samuel promised them that he would see if he could bring back some of the cake with him for them to share that night. His parents would've taken Jessie and Carl if they were going to be there too late, but they only planned on staying until the afternoon as his father couldn't much more time than that off from work before his time off would be without pay.

The drive to his grandparents cottage wasn't as bad as the drive back and forth to where Lena lived since unlike her, they only lived over an hour and a half away. They were both retired and enjoying life on the outskirts of a small town where there wasn't too much noise and they could enjoy the everyday peace.

They used to own a much larger house, but eventually as they got older, they sold it off to afford the small two room cottage they currently occupied. It was just the right size for them and less daunting to take care of.

Samuel was the first one to knock on the door as he knew his grandmother would want to give him a huge hug as soon as she saw him. at 75, she still had a lot of strength despite her small size to give him a strong hug. He couldn't hide the smile on his face as he knocked on the door and heard his grandmother calling that she would be there to get in 'just a minute'.

Even though he had braced himself for it, he still wasn't ready for the huge hug that his grandmother gave him the moment she opened the front door and saw who it was.

"I love you too grandma." He said with a laugh as she let him go so that she could give him a good look over.

"You don't look like you've grown that much since the last time I saw you, are you sure you just turned 18?" She asked scrutinizing him to see what might've changed since she last saw him.

"It's only been a few months since I last saw you. At most, I might've grown an extra half inch since you last saw me." He chuckled as she poked his ribs, a sign that she probably thought he was losing weight. Even though he really wasn't that thin, because of his height, his grandmother was always under the impression that he was too thin and not eating enough to stay healthy.

Once she was satisfied with giving her grandson a good look over and another hug, she turned her attention to her son and wife, each of whom she also gave a hug to.

"Grandpa is still inside waiting in the living room for you. He has our gifts and didn't want to bother moving them or getting up to see you since you would be coming in soon anyways." She informed them as she held open the door so that they could come inside. Samuel knew that this meant he should go and head to the living room to see his grandfather.

He gave his grandson a hug as well, but it wasn't quite as tight as the one his wife had given Samuel. Their brown tabby cat Muffin was also happy to see him. He rubbed against his legs before looking up at him and meowing as though to ask if he had anything for the feline. He of course didn't, but he leaned down to give the cat a few pets before the other left once it realized there would be no food for it.

The gifts that his grandparents had gotten him were a new black wallet that was small but sturdy and held more than enough spaces for his cards and lose cash as well as a lope for him to hang a keychain on that could hold his keys. They had also gotten him some ties and a new pair of shoes. His grandmother insisted on the ties and shoes as she thought that they would come in good use for him when he went to college. First impression mattered after all.

Once he had thanked them for the gifts and they spent a short time catching up, his grandmother shoed them over to the dining room table where the food had already been laid out but carefully covered. She had crepes, scones, with hash browns. After seeing the breakfast spread and knowing that there would still be cake to come, he knew that his sweet tooth would probably be hurting after today and he wouldn't want to eat anything else sweet for quite some time. Good thing that he knew someone else who he was certain would be happy to help him eat the extra shares he was certain he would sent home with.

He couldn't deny that it had been a really nice time however. Maybe to some it wouldn't have been the most ideal 18th birthday party, but considering everything, Samuel didn't have anything to complain about.

He was going to miss these type of family occasions now that he was going to be staying with Lena for a longer period of time when he left again. Her family was nice and all and it was enjoyable for the table to always be full at least when they ate dinner, but it didn't hold the same type of warm intimacy that he grew up being used to with his own family. The two family relationships couldn't be compared.