Peony entered and set the box at the edge of the desk before answering. "I know you are busy," she said, "and I will not deter you long. Although," she added, looking at the papers on the desk, "perhaps I might be of some assistance before I go. However, I do believe a brief pause may rejuvenate you. You are deserving of one today, I think."
She opened the box, smiled. "You did not think I had forgotten?" In all of her busyness, she never forgot her friends' birthdays. And Siana, she had a notion, would work the day through -- much as Peony herself usually did -- with no acknowledgment.