A/N: Today is my birthday- yippee! LOL! And since it is also Good Friday, we don't have school (I teach). So in honor of that, I am spending my day off relaxing and skipping ahead in time from Sunday to Thursday so that we can celebrate Steph's birthday with her! I hope you enjoy! ;)

Chapter 16

Thursday, October 12, 1995

I woke up Thursday morning with a smile on my face. "Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday dear me-eee; Happy Birthday to me!" I hummed. I was officially 18. In the grand scheme of things, it didn't mean a whole lot right now. I mean, I was still living with my parents, so it wasn't like I could go crazy and do whatever I wanted.

A grin spread across my face as I imagined telling my parents that I was moving out now that I was 18. That Carlos and I had decided to get our own place. I snorted. My mother would have a coronary!

I rolled out of bed and headed for the shower, checking out my neck in the mirror. The marks were pretty much gone now. By Saturday, a little concealer and some powder would ensure that they were invisible in the Homecoming pictures. I smiled. Mrs. Manoso would be thrilled!

I stepped into the shower and daydreamed about last night, letting the warm water wake me up.

Yesterday was Wednesday, which meant that I had been off of work for majorette practice. Since I had to work tonight, my mother had made my birthday dinner for me last night, and my grandparents had come over to celebrate. I had wanted Carlos to join us, and since I wasn't grounded any longer, I thought he should have been allowed. My mother, however, disagreed. She said that he was still not allowed over until the dance Saturday night. I had been disappointed, but Carlos had reassured me that it was fine, saying that he'd rather help me celebrate on my actual birthday anyway.

My mother had gone out of her way to make all of my favorites, from fettuccine alfredo to pineapple upside down cake. I knew that it was her way of saying that she wished things were better between us.

My parents had given me a birthday card with $20.00 in cash and a note. The note said that they had paid my car payment and my car insurance for the month as my gift. The $20.00 was meant to be for gas or an evening out with friends. I looked up at them with tears in my eyes. I couldn't believe they had done that for me! I was speechless!

"Thank you!" I finally choked out.

My dad had to clear his throat a few times before he could answer. "Your mother and I knew that those payments were a big burden on you this month, Pumpkin. We thought maybe this would help you out a little."

My mother nodded and smiled a wobbly smile. "We wanted to do something bigger for you. It's not every day that you turn 18 and become an adult." She looked down at her hands. "For Valerie's 18th birthday, we bought her a set of sterling silver earrings from Tiffany's. But your father and I thought that you would appreciate this more." She looked up at me as if questioning their logic.

I nodded. "Thank you!"

My Grandma Mazur had reached over then and handed me their gift. I opened the turquoise box to find a pair of sterling silver earrings from Tiffany's. My mother and I looked at them in astonishment. We both knew that my grandparents were on a tight budget. And while they weren't in danger of going bankrupt any time soon, they were incredibly frugal with their money. They just didn't spend money on non-essentials very often. They hardly ever ate out or bought new clothes. The one thing that my grandmother 'splurged' on was her weekly trip to the beauty salon.

"Grandma! You shouldn't have!" I gasped, staring wide eyed at the box.

"Mother! Daddy!" my mom rasped out, unbelieving.

My grandfather just sat silently, smiling at our shocked faces. My grandmother leaned over and patted my hand. "Well, now. It just wouldn't do for Valerie to get something like that for her 18th birthday and not you, now would it? People would think we were playing favorites." She winked at me, and I blinked back the tears.

If anything, my Grandma was right. They were playing favorites; only I was the favorite, not Valerie. For Valerie's 18th birthday, my grandparents had gotten her a sweater.

I stood up and walked over to them, flinging my arms around my Grandma and then my Grandpa. "Thank you!"

My Grandma smiled as I walked back over to my seat. I took out my cheap pair of metal hoops and put in the new ones.

"So what's this I hear about you dating a hottie?"

I looked up at her in surprise. "What?"

"Well according to Evelyn Fischer, there was a boy at the Tasty Pastry the other night while you were working. She said that you two seemed very close. And she said that she's seen him there every night that you work."

I opened my mouth in shock. What the hell? Why was Mrs. Fischer spying on me?

My mother glared over at me. "Carlos comes to see you at work every night?"

I let out a deep breath and looked down. Crap!

"Stephanie!" she huffed. "I asked you a question!"

I nodded. "He comes and helps me close every night. He mops all of the floors and takes out the trash for me. Then he drives me to the bank."

My dad looked at me questioningly. "Why does he drive you to the bank?"

I explained Carlos's reasoning, and my parents both looked surprised. My dad recovered first. "I knew I liked that boy!"

My mom had a strange look on her face. It almost looked like she was reconsidering her feelings about Carlos, but I hated to hope for that. She nodded. "That's very nice of him." She said softly.

I blushed. "He's a nice guy, mom. If you'd try to get to know him, you'd see that for yourself."

She gave me a small nod. "Maybe you're right."

My dad cleared his throat. "Were you and Carlos planning on going out after the game Friday?"

I nodded slowly, unsure where this conversation was going.

My dad continued. "Maybe Carlos could stay for a little bit when he drops you off. It would give us all a chance to visit."

I just looked up in surprise. "I thought he wasn't allowed over until Saturday."

My dad looked over at my mother, and she nodded. "He can bring you home Friday."

"What time?" My Grandma chimed in. "I wanna meet this hottie, too, ya know!"

I blushed. "Let me see what Carlos has planned, and I'll let you know, Grandma."

She grinned and wagged her eyebrows up and down at me. "Alright!" Good God! My Grandmother looked like Lester! I had almost burst out in hysterical laughter.

Smiling at the memory of last night, I stepped out of the shower and dried off. I hurried through the rest of my morning routine and flew down the stairs. I wanted to skip breakfast, but I knew that there was no way my mother would let me. Since it was my birthday, I knew there would be a stack of pancakes waiting for me.

Sure enough, I walked into the kitchen to see three fluffy pancakes at my place. When I sat down, my mother stuck a candle in them and ordered me to make a wish. I grinned and blew out the candle.

"What did you wish for?" my mom asked, teasing.

I grinned, shaking my head. "I can't tell you, mom, you know that! Otherwise it won't come true!" And, oh boy, did I want this wish to come true! In a bad way! I blushed and shoved a huge bite of pancake into my mouth before I could accidentally say something incriminating.

"So what are your plans for today?" my mom asked as she bustled around the room.

I shrugged. "Just work and school." I said around a mouthful of pancake.

My mom nodded and turned back towards the sink. "Your father and I talked, and if you would like Carlos to bring you home after work tonight, we are fine with that."

I snapped my head up and looked at the back of my mother's head. "He's allowed over tonight?"

My mom just nodded. "Yes."

My dad looked up from his paper and winked at me before he took a big drink of coffee.

I smiled at him and mouthed 'thank you.'

He just disappeared back behind the sports section and continued eating his own stack of pancakes.

C&S C&S C&S C&S C&S

When I pulled into the school parking lot, I was immediately mobbed by Carlos and our friends.

They started singing "Happy Birthday" and somebody stuck a Burger King crown on my head, proclaiming me Queen for the Day. I laughed and pulled it off, sticking it on Lester's head.

He grinned. "So what time am I picking you up, Beautiful?" he asked.

I just raised my eyebrows and looked at him.

"We have a date!" he insisted.

"We do?" I asked, confused.

He laughed. "Yep. Remember? I promised to take you to get a tattoo on your birthday."

I burst out laughing, remembering the night we'd first met in the parking lot. "Sorry, Les! I have to work tonight. Maybe another time!"

He grinned wickedly. "Those kinds of places stay open late, Steph. You could always sneak out later tonight, and I would take you!"

I smacked his arm and stuck my tongue out at him. I wished that I could be mad at Carlos for everyone finding out about our little adventure Sunday night, but unfortunately, it was me and my big mouth that was at fault! I had been telling Mary Lou and Connie about being grounded and sneaking out the window to go and get ice cream with Carlos, and I hadn't been paying any attention to who else was around us. Lester had been standing off to the side of our little group, and he heard the entire conversation. Which, of course, meant that all the rest of the guys now knew the entire story. Gah! I really needed to be more aware of my surroundings!

Lester grinned back. "You could get Carlos's name tattooed somewhere on your body!" he continued.

I blushed, and Carlos wrapped his arms around me, pulling my chest against his. He leaned down to nibble on my ear. "I actually kind of like that idea, Babe." He whispered huskily. "It's a good way to let everyone know you're mine!"

I looked up at him through lowered lashes. "You get my name tattooed somewhere on your body first, and then we'll talk." I teased back.

"Name the body part." He growled in my ear.

I blushed and tried to pull away, but he just chuckled and held me close.

C&S C&S C&S C&S C&S

When I got to work at 3:30, I called out hello to Tracy, the owner, and headed into the back to get my apron. Usually Tracy was packed up and ready to leave as soon as I walked in the door. Her kids were in elementary school, and she wanted to be sure to get home in time to get them off of the bus.

Today, however, Tracy just waved at me without lifting her head. She had papers spread out on one of the larger tables, and she was muttering to herself, punching numbers on the calculator.

I tied my apron and poured a lemonade. I walked over and sat it in front of Tracy. "Everything OK?" I questioned.

She blew out a frustrated sigh and nodded. "Yeah, just a little behind on some of my usual jobs this week. The kids have been sick, so I haven't had time to work on payroll and scheduling at home. Plus I still need to inventory the stock room so that I can put together an order for some of the vendors. Joanne has been sick and called off all week, so I haven't had time to do that." She picked up the lemonade, nodding her thanks.

My forehead creased. "Anything I can do to help?"

She looked at me thoughtfully. "Actually, there is."

I looked at her expectantly. "Name it."

Tracy grinned. "Well, if you wouldn't mind taking inventory of the stock room, I'd really appreciate it! I can watch the front of the store while I do the payroll and schedule. It's usually pretty quiet until around 5:00, so I should be able to get everything done."

"Sure. Just tell me what I need to do!"

Tracy handed me several blank inventory sheets. "The items that I need checked are along the side over here. You just need to count the quantity on hand and write it over here. Don't count any open containers. Just count sealed ones."

I nodded my understanding and took the sheets.

Tracy gave me a one armed hug. "Thanks so much, Steph! I really appreciate it!"

I smiled back. "No problem!" I had done inventory for Tracy and her husband before, just not very often. I knew it was tedious and that it was one of the first things to get pushed aside. It was impossible to do if you were the only one in the store. The stockroom was way in the back, and there was no way you could hear customers come in when you were back there.

Usually Tracy would do inventory during the slower part of the morning, but if Joanne had called off all week, that meant that Tracy had to be up front for the full shift. I pulled Tracy's clipboard off of the wall and climbed up onto the small stepladder, ready to start counting.

At 6:00 I sighed and climbed down off of the stepladder. I had finally counted the last type of filling. I put away the stepladder and clipboard, then headed out to give Tracy the inventory sheet and see if there was anything else she needed.

I pushed through the swinging door and gasped. The front of the store was filled! I looked around. Tracy, Carlos, Mr. and Mrs. Manoso, the guys, Mary Lou, and Connie were all grinning at me. They were holding balloons, flowers, gift bags, and wrapped boxes. "Surprise!" they yelled.

Carlos walked over to me. "Happy Birthday, Babe!" He handed me a bouquet of flowers wrapped in bright blue tissue paper.

I looked down and gasped. "Calla lilies! How did you know that these were my favorite?"

He held my hands and grinned. "I may have cheated a little." He admitted, glancing over at a smiling Mary Lou and Connie.

"This is so sweet!" I buried my face in the flowers and inhaled deeply.

When I looked up and saw Tracy smiling at me, I blushed. "Thank you everyone, but I'm supposed to be working right now."

Tracy waved her hand at me dismissively. "That's why I'm still here, Stephanie! Your friends called earlier this week to order your birthday cake. Then they asked if it would be OK if they came in and ate it here with you since you would be working. When I found out that today was your 18th birthday, I insisted that they come in and have their party here. It kind of grew from cake and lemonade to a full dinner and dessert."

I just shook my head. "But…" I started.

Tracy just laughed and steered me over to a table. "You're my most reliable employee, Steph! Consider this my thank you and my birthday gift to you. You're on break until 8:00. Then I need to get home and give my little monkeys a bath." She winked at me.

Carlos and the guys pushed all of the tables together, and Tracy brought out huge trays of sandwiches. To go with it, she put out soup, pasta salad, potato salad, pickles, olives, chips, and veggies and dip. Everyone loaded up their plates and sat around visiting.

True to her word, Tracy popped up to wait on every customer who walked through the door.

Once everyone had had their fill of dinner, Tracy brought out the cake. It was a huge layer cake with "Happy Birthday Stephanie" written in blue script. The top was decorated with dozens of roses in almost every color of the rainbow.

"Oooh!" I breathed. I looked up at Tracy. "Did you make this?"

She nodded, a huge smile on her face. "What do you think? I got a little carried away with the roses, huh?"

I shook my head. "No! I love it! It looks beautiful!"

I laughed as Mrs. Manoso placed 18 candles on the top of the cake. "18?" I asked.

She nodded. "Of course! Why?"

I shrugged. "I usually just get one to blow out."

She waved her hand. "Pffft! One candle? That's no fun! You are 18! You get 18 candles!"

"And I get to give you your 18 birthday spanks." Carlos whispered in my ear as his mother lit the candles.

"You are so bad!" I whispered back, and he grinned wickedly.

Once she had the candles lit, Mrs. Manoso carefully carried the cake over to my table and sat it down in front of me. Everyone sang "Happy Birthday," and then I blew out my candles to chants of, "Make a wish! Make a wish!"

"What did you wish for?" Lester asked, wagging his eyebrows up and down.

Geez! What was with people today? Didn't they know the wish making rules? I glared at Lester. "You know I can't tell you that!"

I made the mistake of looking over at Carlos immediately after that, and Lester started whooping, loudly suggesting the kinds of things that I probably 'wanted.' One look from Mrs. Manoso, and he shut up pretty quickly!

Tracy started cutting the cake and passing it around. "This is a new kind of cake, so you'll all have to tell me what you think."

"What kind is it?" I asked, accepting the first piece. Hey! Being the birthday girl has its benefits!

"The cake is French vanilla, and the filling is the new strawberry filling we just got in."

I took a big bite and moaned in pleasure. "Oh my God, Tracy! This is awesome!"

She grinned. "Really? I'm so glad you like it! Now I can't wait to try it myself!"

I polished off my piece of cake and eyed the half of a piece that was still on Carlos's plate. He grinned at me. "See something you want, Babe?"

I lowered my voice and whispered in his ear. "Yes, but I'll settle for your cake."

He groaned and forked a bite, holding it up to my lips. I finished the rest of his piece only feeling slightly guilty.

Mary Lou jumped up and handed me a gift bag. "Time for presents!" she announced.

I grinned and opened her gift bag, finding the new CD I wanted. "Thanks, Mare!" I gushed, flipping it over to look at the back.

She grinned, and another present was passed forward. I opened what seemed like an endless supply of CDs, shower gel, and chocolates. I was so touched at the generosity and thoughtfulness of my friends.

Carlos saved his gift for last. He passed me a small square box, and I opened it to find a silver heart locket. He popped it open, and I gasped at the pictures. On one side was a picture of Carlos, grinning and looking as handsome as ever. On the other side was a picture of me, smiling, with my hair flying around my head. The sweetest thing about it was that our faces were angled towards each other. It made us look as if we were grinning at one another. I loved it!

I traced over our faces again and again. "Where did you get this picture?" I asked softly.

Carlos wrapped his arms around me. "Mary Lou." He took the locket and closed it, carefully draping it over my neck.

My hand automatically went up to hold it as he closed the clasp. I looked over at Mary Lou. "Is the picture from Point Pleasant last summer?"

She nodded and smiled. "It was hard to find one of you that was small enough for the locket. I sorted through hundreds of pictures, but then I came across that one. I just love that picture of you! You have such a big happy smile on your face!"

I threw my arms around her. "It's perfect! Thank you!"

C&S C&S C&S C&S C&S

At 8:00, everyone cleared out, and I thanked them all again for the wonderful party. Especially Tracy. I couldn't believe that she had stayed over just so that I could celebrate my birthday with my friends.

Carlos helped me close, and then he followed me back to my house. Having just gotten his ban lifted from the Plum household, he was reluctant to give me a proper kiss good night. Instead, he lightly fingered my locket and gave me a soft kiss on the lips.

"So did you get everything you wanted for your birthday, Babe?" he asked against my ear.

I nodded. "I think this has been my best birthday ever."

He grinned. "So what did you wish for when you blew out your candles?"

I rocked my hips against his and fisted my hands in his hair. "I'll let you know after you make it come true." My voice was so husky I almost didn't recognize it.

He thrust himself against me, wrapping his arms around my waist and groaning into my mouth. "God, Babe!" he choked. "You're killing me here!"

I grinned wickedly at him. "So you don't want to make my wish come true?"

He pressed me tighter to him. "Always, Stephanie. I'll always give you whatever you wish for."

TBC