Page 94 of Like You Want It

“Making something?”

I nod. “I’m working on a few small projects.”

“Like what?”

I sigh, not wanting to share.

His eyebrows rise. “Don’t tell me I’ve finally found a topic that you don’t want to talk about?” When I don’t answer, he chuckles. “I didn’t think it was possible.”

“Okay!” I say, only slightly irritated, but also appreciating his interest. “I’m making greeting cards.”

His brow furrows. “Like the ones you buy that say Happy Birthday and Get Well Soon?”

I nod. “Yeah. I do these little… doodles and I’ve had a few friends say I should try to make cards, so…”

“Well. That’s really cool. Good luck.”

I’m thankful he doesn’t ask to see them. It took me forever to learn how to use a drawing tablet, but I’m still focused on making handmade cards. They’ve all looked horrible so far, so sharing them is not in the wheelhouse for today.

“So, what did you need help with?”

“Ah,” Fin says, slapping his hands on his knees. “Susie’s birthday is next week, and I…”

“Oh my gosh, yes!”

He pauses. “I didn’t say anything.”

“Well, I’m letting you know that I’m in. Whatever it is. Let’s shower our girl with an amazing twenty-fifth birthday!” And then I start doing a little happy dance in my chair.

There’s a look on his face that I can’t decipher, though if I had to describe it, I’d say he looks like my GP does when his favorite nurse sneaks him an extra brownie. Like he’s getting something unexpected.

“Alright, well… I’m horrible at this stuff,” he finally says. “Do you have any ideas? Things you think she would enjoy?”

I steeple my fingers together and tap them repetitively against each other, trying to come up with an idea. “Do you have contact details for her other friends?” When Fin doesn’t reply, my shoulders fall. “Oh, yeah.”

My brain flashes back to just a few nights ago when Susie told me she doesn’t have really any close friends. That she never has.

I wrack my brain. How do you throw an amazing birthday party for someone who doesn’t have friends without highlighting the fact that there are only a few people there?

“She just… hasn’t had time to connect with anyone since rehab, and we’ve both only lived in this area for not very long, so…”

“Fin,” I interrupt, my voice soothing. “We’ll figure it out. You, me, Dina, Nell. Your mom and dad. Noah. A party filled with just the people that love you more than anything? That’s always enough.”

He swallows hard.

I grab my laptop off the kitchen counter and sit next to him at the table, clicking onto the Internet to do a search.

“Does Susie know you’re here?”

“No. She’s with Nell at the park this morning until I get back from a meeting.”

I nod, my eyes flicking over my Google search. “What if we do an outdoor movie night? We can rent a projector and a popcorn machine and play something with vintage Rob Lowe in it.”

He snickers. “She does have the hots for that guy.” He thinks it over for a second. “You know, I’m a little jealous that you’ve only known her for like, a month and a half, and you were able to think of what might be the world’s most perfect party for her.”

I grin. “We all have our skills, DolFin. Mine are being creative, coming up with nicknames, smiling all the time, and line dancing.”

He laughs hard at that. “And what are mine?”