Page 59

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

JADE

Right at noon, Frank and Ryan arrive in the rental car. I run outside to greet them.

“Happy birthday.” Ryan says it first, then Frank.

“Thanks.” I give them both a hug. “And thanks for coming. I’ve missed you guys. Come inside. I’ll give you a tour.”

“Where’s the husband?” Ryan asks.

“At class. He’ll be back soon and then we’re all going to lunch.”

“Did you lose some weight?” Frank asks, concern in his voice. “You look awfully thin.”

“I lost weight when I had the flu. My stomach still isn’t back to normal. But I had four donuts for breakfast so that should pack on the pounds.”

“Garret let you eat donuts?” Ryan asks. “I told him he had to feed you right.”

“The donuts are just a birthday treat. Any other day he makes me eat healthy stuff for breakfast.” I open the front door for them. “So here it is.”

Frank walks in and looks around. “It’s very nice.”

“Yeah, I like the granite.” Ryan’s in the kitchen. “Dad’s getting granite just like this. He picked it out a couple weeks ago.”

Frank’s new house is almost finished. He’s been sending me photos of it during the construction. The house is all one level with three bedrooms and three bathrooms.

“Do you think the house will be done on time?” I ask Frank.

“Actually, it’s ahead of schedule. You’re still coming for Thanksgiving, right?”

“Of course. I can’t wait. It seems like forever since I was back there.”

“That reminds me. Your former algebra teacher gave me this.” He pulls an envelope from his pocket and hands it to me.

“What is it?” I rip it open.

“It’s an invitation to speak at an event he’s involved in. It’s scheduled for the weekend you’ll be home. He stopped by the house last week and told me about it. He and his wife both volunteer for an organization that helps young women who are struggling because of a difficult past. This group helps them get job training, counseling, whatever they need to move forward.”

Inside the envelope is the invitation describing the event, along with a note from Mr. Gatlin, my former teacher, saying he wants me to be a speaker. He wrote down his phone number and email address.

“Why would he want me to speak at this thing?”

Ryan puts his arm around me. “Because you’re an inspiration to others.” He says it dramatically, like he’s kidding.

“Yeah, right.”

“It’s true. That’s what he said. Tell her, Dad.”

“Mr. Gatlin said you’d be an excellent role model for these young women.”

“What am I supposed to say to them?”

“That’s up to you. But I’m assuming he wants you to talk a little about your past and then tell these girls how you became the success that you are today.”

Hearing him say that makes me feel like a loser again. I’m not a success. I have no clue what I’m going to do with my life. I need to tell Frank and Ryan my news. I just want to get it over with.

“Can you guys sit down? I need to say something.”

Ryan looks at my stomach.

I roll my eyes. “I’m not pregnant, Ryan. Would you stop thinking that every time I say I need to tell you something?”

He shrugs. “One of these times it’ll be true.”

“Anyway.” I take a deep breath and let it out. “I’ve decided I’m not going to med school.”

They both stare at me, not saying anything, then Frank finally says, “Was that it?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Oh. Okay. I thought you were going to tell us bad news.”

“Yeah, me, too.” Ryan gets up and goes to the kitchen. “You should’ve seen your face, Jade. I thought you were going to say someone died. You got any soda in the fridge?”

“Wait. You’re not mad about this? Or disappointed?”

Frank shakes his head. “No. You never acted that excited about med school so I wasn’t really sure why you wanted to go.”

“Ryan doesn’t act excited about med school and he’s still going.”

“Yeah, but I’m excited about a being a doctor ,” Ryan says. “Nobody’s excited about med school. It’s a ton of work. So you have to be sure you really want to be a doctor before you suffer through all that.”

“Ryan’s always wanted to be a doctor,” Frank says. “He’s been talking about it since he was a kid. He even tried to perform surgery on the neighbor cat.”

“I wasn’t gonna cut him open,” Ryan says, returning to the living room with a can of Coke. “I was just pretending.”

“He was 8 at the time,” Frank says. “I knew then that he’d either be a veterinarian or a doctor.”

Ryan sits next to me. “I just always knew that’s what I wanted to do. It’s one of those things where you just know.”

“Really? I never felt that way about being a doctor. I just wanted to do something to help people.”

“You don’t have to be a doctor to do that,” Frank says.

“I know. I’m just not sure what else to do.”

“You’ll figure it out. I started college thinking I’d be an engineer. After a year of sitting through classes I had no interest in, I finally changed my major to journalism. My father wasn’t happy. He was an engineer so he wanted his son to be an engineer, but it wasn’t right for me.”

“You never told me that story.”

“It was so long ago, I don’t even think about it.”

“Did you drop some classes?” Ryan asks. “Because if I were you, I’d drop organic chem. I don’t know what you were thinking taking that at the same time as chem 2 and advanced calculus.”

“Yeah, I dropped it. And the lab. And it’s too late to sign up for another class so my schedule’s pretty open until next semester.”

Ryan’s phone rings. It’s Chloe calling to wish me a Happy Birthday. And just like that we’ve moved on from the med school discussion. I worried myself sick all week for nothing. Frank and Ryan weren’t even the tiniest bit mad about it. That’s a huge relief. Now that I’ve told them, I can relax and enjoy my birthday.

At 12:30 I hear Garret’s car outside. He comes in the front door. “Hi, Frank. Hey, Ryan.”

They say hi and Garret motions me to the door. “You have another guest. Come here.”

As I walk to the door, Garret moves aside and Grace walks in.

“Grace!” I hug her. “I can’t believe you’re here!”

“It’s your birthday. I had to be here.”

“You flew all the way out here for my birthday? Grace, you didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to. I missed my—”

“Ryan and Frank are here, too.” I had to interrupt her before she called me her granddaughter. Ryan doesn’t know she’s my grandmother. He just thinks she’s a close friend of Garret’s family. Last summer we told Ryan that Grace was like a grandmother to Garret growing up and that’s why she attended the wedding.

Frank stands up. “Nice to see you again, Grace.”

“And you as well.” She walks over and says hello to him and sits next to Ryan on the couch.

I stand there, still shocked that the three of them came all this way for my birthday.

“Can I get you anything to drink?” Garret asks.

Grace and Frank both ask for water.

I follow Garret into the kitchen as the three of them talk. “When did Grace tell you she was coming?”

“Last week.” He smiles. “Actually, I’m the one who invited her.”

“Thank you.” I hug him. “I’ve really missed her.”

“I know you have. She’ll be here all weekend.”

I hug him again as he’s trying to pour the water.

“You seem even happier than when I left this morning. Are you on a sugar high from the donuts?”

“I’m just relieved because I told Frank and Ryan I’m not going to med school and they didn’t get mad.”

“I told you they wouldn’t.”

“I know, but I didn’t believe you.”

He shakes his head, then gives me a quick kiss. “Where’s your tiara?”

“I’m not wearing that. Are you kidding me?”

“Why won’t you wear it? I thought it was just a hair accessory.” He smiles, then walks off with the glasses of water.

The five of us sit and talk for a few minutes, then go to lunch at a restaurant Garret picked. He said one of his professors goes there all the time. It has a big outdoor patio with a wood-fired grill where they make pizzas, but the menu has other items as well.

After lunch, everyone goes back to our place and we talk some more out on the deck. Frank doesn’t mention his new girlfriend. I’m dying to know more about her but I guess he’s not ready to talk about her.

Around 5, Frank and Ryan take Grace back to the hotel where they’re all staying. Apparently everyone knows where we’re going for dinner except me. And Garret still won’t tell me.

I put on a sleeveless red dress. It’s short and fitted and a little sexy but still classy. Garret puts on black dress pants and a grayish-blue, button-up shirt. I told him not to wear a suit because it seemed too formal and I want tonight to be casual and fun.

“You look good, Garret.” I reach up and kiss him. “Really good. And you smell really good, too. What time do we need to be there?”

He laughs. “We don’t have time for sex, Jade. We’ll do that later.”

I stand back a little. “Do I look okay?”

“You look hot. I love red on you. Actually I love every color on you, but the red is—” He steps back, his eyes sweeping over me, looking like he wants to rip the dress off. “Damn, we need to go.”

I slip my black heels on and walk to the dresser. Garret grabs me from behind. “And now you add high heels? We’ll never leave.”

I turn around and give him a kiss. “I just need my earrings and then we’ll go.”

“Here.” He hands me a small box.

“What’s this?”

“A present.”

I open it and inside is a pair of diamond earrings.

“These are beautiful, Garret, but you already got me diamond earrings.”

He points to the box. “I owed you those. Back on Valentine’s Day, when I gave you those diamond earrings, I told you I’d get you ones twice that size if you married me. And you did. So there you go. I keep my word, Jade.”

“Thank you.” I put them on. “They really are beautiful.”

“So are you.” He kisses me. “Now let’s go, birthday girl.”

He takes me to that steakhouse we went to a month ago.

“What do you think?” Garret says as he parks.

“It’s great. I love this place.” I see Frank’s rental car in the parking lot. “Looks like everyone’s already here.”

“Yeah, everyone’s here.” Garret laughs a little. He’s acting strange.

Inside the restaurant, Garret gives the hostess our name. She leads us to a door on the side of the restaurant. It must be a private dining room. That must be the surprise. Garret rented out a private room that overlooks the ocean.

“You ready?” Garret’s smiling.

“Um, okay.” I’m not sure what to expect.

He opens the door and Harper’s standing there.

“Happy Birthday!” She hugs me.

“Oh my God! Harper, I can’t believe you came all the way out here!”

“I couldn’t miss your birthday, Jade.”

Behind her, I see Sean. “Sean came, too?”

“I go wherever she goes,” he kids, as he comes over and gives me a hug. “Happy Birthday.”

“Thanks. This is such a huge surprise.”

Frank, Ryan, and Grace hug me next.

The room is all decorated. The ceiling lights are dimmed and white twinkling lights are strung all around. There’s a table in the back, which has a small stack of presents and a two-layer cake with candles on top. Clear balloons filled with silver sparkly stuff are tied to each chair.

Between the people and the setting I’m overcome with emotion.

“This is amazing. Really. I’ve never had—” My voice cracks and I can barely get the words out as I try not to cry. “I can’t believe everyone came for—” I’m unable to finish. Now I’m crying. Dammit. Why am I crying? “Sorry, I just need a minute.”

I race toward the side door which leads to the outdoor patio. Garret and Frank follow me.

“Jade?” Garret stops me, his face full of concern.

I smile at him. “I just need some fresh air.”

“Can you give us a minute?” Frank asks Garret.

“Sure.” Garret goes back to the party. I hear him talking, encouraging everyone to join him so this isn’t so awkward for me.

Frank puts his arm around me and we go out on the patio.

“I know this is a lot for you, Jade.”

There’s so much meaning behind Frank’s words. He’s the only one who truly knows what a big deal this is to me. Garret knows about my past, but Frank witnessed it and because of that he knows why my birthday is so hard for me. He knew my mom and he saw how she treated me. He knows I never celebrated anything because of her. Frank was the first person who tried to celebrate my birthday and my mom got mad at him for it. And Frank was there the day she killed herself—two days before my sixteenth birthday. After that, I gave up even trying to celebrate my birthday.

I wipe my face and take some deep breaths.

Frank keeps his arm around me. “It’s not just the day, is it? It’s all the people.”

“Yeah.” I don’t need to explain it to him. Frank knows exactly what I’m thinking.

It’s overwhelming for this many people to show up just for me. Part of me doesn’t even understand that people would care enough about me to show up like this. I shouldn’t think that way now, but part of me still does. Just a year ago, I couldn’t understand why Garret even wanted to be friends with me. Or why Harper wanted to be my friend. And now I have all these people in my life and it almost doesn’t seem real.

“Jade, everyone who’s here tonight loves you. I hope you know that. And I hope you believe it.”

I nod. “I do. I’m just not used to all this attention. I didn’t know Garret was planning all this.”

“He wanted you to have real birthday. He told me last year you didn’t tell anyone about your birthday and that he never would’ve known about it if he hadn’t stopped by your room that night.”

“I just didn’t feel like celebrating it.”

“You need to, Jade. You need to forget about those other birthdays and let this be the start of something new. That room is full of people who love you and we came here tonight because we want to celebrate with you.”

“I know. And it’s great. It really is. I wish I hadn’t reacted that way. I’m so embarrassed.”

He leans over like he’s telling me a secret. “Don’t worry about it. Nobody even noticed.”

I smile. “Yes, they did.”

He squeezes my shoulder. “Let’s go have a party, okay?”

He walks me back inside to Garret, who takes my hand as he continues to talk to Sean and Harper. Ryan and Grace are talking, too. Nobody acts like I’m crazy for breaking down. They just continue to talk.

Harper goes around Sean and wraps her arm in mine, pulling me away from Garret.

“I guess I’ll see you later.” He keeps hold of my hand and kisses my forehead, then looks at me to make sure I’m okay. I smile and he lets go of my hand.

“You guys are still so in love,” Harper says as she takes me aside. “So were you surprised? I made Garret promise not to tell you.”

“I was completely shocked. You missed a whole day of class.”

“There weren’t any classes today, but even if there were I would’ve come here anyway. I miss my best friend. I hate being so far away.”

“You should just move here.” I say it jokingly.

“I’ve thought about it. But don’t tell anyone that. I haven’t even told Sean.”

“You’d really leave Moorhurst?”

She shrugs. “Probably not. I just miss my family and California and you and Garret. Moorhurst isn’t the same without you around. I think that’s why I get homesick sometimes.”

Garret comes up behind me, putting his arms around me.

“Hey, we’re still having girl talk here,” Harper says, kiddingly.

“What can I say?” Garret leans down and kisses my cheek. “I missed my wife.”

Harper laughs. “I swear, you guys are more in love every time I see you.”

“I need to thank you for getting the room ready for tonight,” Garret says. “It looks great.”

“You did all this?” I ask Harper.

“Yeah, I kind of took over the party. You know how much I love to plan stuff like this.”

“I always tell her she should be a party planner,” Sean says. “And I could do the catering.”

She kisses him. “If you keep saying that, I might just do it.”

“Are you changing your mind about broadcasting?” Garret asks.

“Maybe. It’s such a competitive field that I’ll probably end up working as an intern for 10 years. And I don’t really want to do that. Plus, I’ll have to travel all the time.”

Since we’re on the topic of careers, I tell them my news about med school. Grace is standing there and she hears the news as well. So now I’ve told everyone. I can finally stop stressing about it.

We sit down for dinner. Then we have cake and I open my presents.

It’s my first real birthday party. And if I count breakfast, I’ve had two parties today.

After the party, Frank, Ryan, and Grace go back to the hotel, but Sean and Harper insist we stop at a coffee shop that’s on the way home. The place has live music on Friday nights. But when we get there, Garret goes home and leaves me with Sean and Harper. He says he forgot something and has to go get it.

An hour later, he’s still not back. I call him and he says he had to go to the grocery store to get stuff for tomorrow. I can’t figure out why he’d go shopping tonight instead of tomorrow but I don’t question him.

The band finishes playing and people start to leave.

“I don’t think Garret’s coming back here,” I say to Harper. “We should go.”

She checks her phone and smiles. “Yeah, we can go. We’ll drop you off on the way to our hotel.”

They drive me home and when I invite them inside, Harper says, “We would, but we’re really tired from the trip. We’ll see you in the morning.”

“Yeah, okay.” I go to the door and Garret opens it. “Garret, why didn’t you come back to the coffee shop?”

“I was busy.” He takes my hand and brings me to the bedroom.

“Busy doing what?”

He flips the light switch on the wall, making the room dark, then flips another switch and a soft blue light glows above us. I look up and see blue lights suspended from the ceiling.

“You seemed to like it last year when I did this for your birthday, so I thought I’d do it again.”

“I love it!” I hug him. “It’s just like in our dorm rooms.”

“Let’s check it out.” He leads me to the bed and we lie next to each other and hold hands, gazing up at the ceiling. “What do you think? You like this better than the earrings?”

“I like them both.”

“You like the lights better. It’s okay. You can say it. But I had to get you the earrings. We had a deal.”

“I love the earrings and the lights.” I flip on my side and hug him. “And I love you . Thanks for a great birthday.”

“It’s not over yet. Everyone’s here for the weekend so the party will just keep going. And you still have an hour left of your actual birthday.”

“What do you want to do?”

“Get you out of this dress.” He reaches around and unzips it.

“And then what?”

“Get out of the dress and I’ll show you.”

And that’s how I end my birthday.