Turning

"Sam! Wake up!" Carly said, barging into her best friend's bedroom. "Come on, birthday girl."

"Shut. Up." Sam mumbled, burying her head into her pillow.

"Sam, come on, rise and shine," Carly continued, opening the blinds, causing a stream of sunshine to flood the room. "It's not everyday you turn 30."

"Ah! Don't say it!"

"Really, you're still freaking out?" Carly said, rolling her eyes as she yanked the covers off the bed. "Are you still on this? For the last time, 30 isn't old, Sam."

"Yeah? We'll see how you are come July…"

"So where's your husband?" Carly asked, sitting down at the end of the bed, pushing Sam's feet off.

"Shower," she yawned.

"Well hurry up and get dressed. Jason's already up baking your birthday breakfast."

"You left my son by himself in the kitchen?"

"He's not using the stove," Carly assured her. "He's just making the batter for your pancakes."

"Well…I'll eat them but I'm still not celebrating my birthday."

"Sam…" Carly moaned.

Just then the door to the adjoining bathroom door opened and Freddie walked out, drying his hair with a towel, wearing only his boxers.

"Carly!" he exclaimed, surprised to see his friend in his bedroom. He quickly pulled the towel around his waist. "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to get Sam to celebrate her birthday like a normal person," Carly replied.

"Which I'm not going to," Sam said firmly, finally sitting up. "If I don't celebrate it, then I can stay 29, and I won't have to be old."

"I'm not sure that's how it works," Freddie smiled.

"Quiet!"

"Okay, Freddie, I'm leaving her up to you," Carly said, getting up. "I'm going to go see how Jason is doing on those pancakes. But I expect you downstairs in fifteen minutes. You're going to have fun today even if I have to drag you around myself."

"She is just too darn perky," Sam yawned as Carly closed the door behind her.

"Come on, baby," Freddie said, sitting down next to his wife. "Get dressed so we can go eat breakfast and start your birthday."

"Will you stop saying that word?"

"You know, I didn't do this when I turned 30 back in February," he pointed out.

"Yeah, well, you were already heading downhill," Sam said. "I mean you already have gray hair."

"I have one," he said. "And I'm pretty sure I know who caused it."

"Look, I just don't want to turn 30."

"It's just a number," Freddie said, pulling her into a hug.

"Yeah, but it's so…old. I mean, it's only twenty years off from 50, which is half a century..."

"Sam," Freddie sighed. "You're being ridiculous."

"Guess I'm getting senile with age then."

"Babe," he said, looking into her blue eyes. "You want to know something?"

"Sure, why not?"

"No matter how old you get, whether it be 50, 70, or even 130, I'll always love you just like I did when we were teenagers, and when we were in our twenties, and now, when we're in our thirties."

Sam smiled a little. "Imagine us at 130."

"You'll still probably be an aggressive she-demon who can down an entire ham in less than ten minutes."

"And you'll probably still be a tech-obsessed geek who I have the urge to punch every time he opens his mouth."

"Come on," Freddie said, laughing. "We should get downstairs."

"You know," Sam said, looking at the clock at her bedside table. "We still have twelve minutes, according to Carly."

"Yeah, we do," Freddie said as he leaned down to kiss Sam. "Happy birthday, Sam."