Jennie
#9. Celebrate my twenty-first birthday.
This week's breakfast had been exchanged for a Saturday night dinner, since Daddy had been TDY in Washington most of the week. The bad thing about dinner? There was no specific end time. Breakfast was simple, a little hey, I have to get to class, and I could escape. Dinner? Not so much.
I rinsed the last plate and slid it into the dishwasher. "That should do it for the dishes."
"Swore he'd be home by six, today of all days," Mama mumbled to herself.
"Oh, it's no big deal. We both know he'd be here if he could. I'm really not mad." It wasn't the first birthday he'd missed, and it wouldn't be the last. Luckily I was old enough to understand that the good of the many outweighed the need of a few.
"Well, can I take you to a movie or something?"
I stifled a smile. There was nothing Mama hated more than going to a movie theater. She ran for hills the first time her shoes came in contact with a spilled soda. "No, ma'am. This was just perfect."
She gave me a soft smile. "It's so nice to have you close."
My cell phone alerted me with a text, and I dried my hands on the hanging towel. A quick swipe of my finger, and Lisa's name appeared on my screen.
Lisa: A little mouse might have said that it's your birthday.
I bit into my lower lip to keep from letting out a squeal of delight. Friends. We were friends again. That was the deal I'd offered, and I guess she was taking it. It didn't matter that I wanted more. I would only hurt her—distract her—and I could never let that happen.
Me: It sure is.
Lisa: Want to go have a real 21st birthday?
Me: What makes you think I'm not already having a huge, mind-blowing party?
Lisa: Because you didn't invite me, so it couldn't possibly be a good party.
"Who's making you smile like that?" Mama hung up her apron and turned her inquisitor eyes on me.
Dang it. "A friend, Mama."
"Mmm-hmm."
I ignored the tone of her voice. She knew something was wrong between V and me, but I hadn't told her we'd broken up. Since we'd spent over a week in Birmingham between scheduled and rescheduled tests, she'd let me off the hook. Well, at least until the results were in. Until then I had 143 days—and I was going to use every one of them.
Luckily, I'd Skyped into class, or my GPA would probably be circling the drain.
Me: Maybe I'm in the middle of a raging rave right now.
Lisa: Yeah, I heard your mom really knows how to throw down.
Me: How would you know?
The dogs barked a heartbeat before the doorbell sounded. "You have to be kidding me."
Mama raised her eyebrows at me as she headed for the door. "Are you expecting company? It's about time V came around."
"No, Mama—"
I made it to the entry hall when she opened the door. "Oh. Ho-Jung. It's lovely to see you."
Wait. What? "Ho-Jung?" Hopefully my voice didn't sound as disappointed as I felt.
"There you are! Let's go, birthday girl!" She tugged me out the door. I barely managed to grab my handbag off the entry hall table. "Nice to see you, Mrs. Kim!"
"You too, dear. Nini…"
"Yes, I'll take my meds!" I answered, laughing while I tried not to trip over my own feet as Ho-Jung tugged me down the stairs. "Ho-Jung, what on earth are we doing?" We skidded around the front porch, and I gasped as the driveway came into view. Lucy. Lisa.
She leaned against the yellow paint job, her baseball hat on backward, wearing jeans I wanted to peel off and a fitted Dropkick Murphys shirt. Just friends. No, I could not spontaneously lick her abs to see if she really tasted as good as she looked.
Then she smiled, and I remembered the urgent press of her lips with mine, the way she whispered my name. I swallowed and played my friends-only mantra through my head. "Lisa?"
"Get in, Little birthday Bird."
Ho-Jung skipped ahead of me and opened the back door, since I saw that Lee already occupied the passenger side. "Where are we going?"
"Does your list say anything about unexpected journeys?"
"I'm not a hobbit."
She pushed off Lucy and walked toward me. A breath of space separated her hand from my cheek before she thought better of it and put it down. "Well, how about I promise that you can check a box off your list if you get in the car? If what I've got planned isn't on it, then you pick something, and we'll check it off."
"Friends?" I needed that line clearly delineated.
"Fucking knee pads," she muttered, closing her eyes briefly.
"What?"
"Yes, I even brought Lee and Ho-Jung as chaperones."
"I'm not really dressed for anything…" I looked down at my simple, fitted V-neck tee, infinity scarf, and ballet flats.
"You look incredible. Now get in the car."
I went.
Nearly two hours later, the bouncer smiled at me and said, "Happy birthday," as he tagged my wrist with a green band.
I grinned and showed off my prize to Ho-Jung, who rolled her eyes. "Don't go getting any ideas, Jennie Ruby Jane."
"I still can't believe you got us tickets." The opening band was on stage as Lisa wound us through the small arena in Panama City. Dropkick Murphys. Incredible.
"When I saw they were coming, I couldn't pass it up." We grabbed drinks at the concession stand, then made our way down the steps of the arena. "You sure just water?"
"Yeah, just water." Alcohol was a giant no-no, which just about frosted my cookies tonight. What was the use of turning twenty-one if I couldn't have a single drink on my birthday?
"Sober on your twenty-first. It's a crime."
"I like to break stereotypes," I answered as we came closer to the stage. "Where are our seats? Did we pass them?" She led me forward until the front row was all that was left. "No way. No way!" I jumped a little and threw my arms around her neck. "Thank you!"
Her arms wound around my back. "Only the best for the birthday girl." Her lips grazed my ear before I withdrew.
We found our seats as the band took the stage, but I was out of it the minute they started to play. I lost myself with nothing between me and the music, and Lisa next to me. I sang along with every song until my voice was hoarse, the energy in each verse winding me higher and higher until I felt invincible.
It was perfect, and then it was over.
Lisa took my hand and led me through the crowd on the way out. Once we cleared the bottleneck at the doorway, she dropped my hand, and I frowned at my own disappointment.
"Well?" She held Lucy's door open for me.
"That was amazing!" My face hurt from smiling so much. "The perfect birthday, thank you!"
"Ready to head home?"
Energy hummed through me. "Is there anywhere we could go down here to dance?"
"Nini?" Ho-Jung questioned. "Dance? Really?"
"Club La Vela is here," Lisa offered. "It's pretty legendary."
"Like the-biggest-club-in-the-nation legendary," Lee commented.
"It's my birthday," I all but begged Ho-Jung. "Have you ever heard me want to go out?"
She shook her head and pulled me aside. "No, but do you think it's the best idea?"
"Yes."
Ho-Jung sighed. "Just keep it within reason."
"Oh, come on. This is me we're talking about."