“Out you go, birthday girl,” June said. “It’s time to face it.”
Laurie followed June up the sidewalk and saw Bethie’s inflatable pool and Tommy’s scooter leaning up against the steps. “Can I swim in the pool?”
“No.”
“Can I ride away on the scooter?”
“Laurie, don’t be a baby.” June opened the door to the house, which was dark in the evening light. Laurie followed her inside, into the front hall where the family’s shoes were neatly lined up on a rack.
“SURPRISE!”
Fortunately, there weren’t very many people. Nick was there, and June’s husband and her kids. Nick’s grandma Ginger was there with newly tinted pink hair, Daisy and Melody were relaxing on the couch, and Violet and Louise, two of Dot’s younger friends from church who had helped take care of the house during probate, were running things in the kitchen. Laurie had cooked for them one night to say thank you, and she’d invited June, too.
She gritted her teeth and said, “You guys, thank you so much!” Daisy walked over and offered her a glass of wine. “Oh, I’m so glad you could come,” Laurie said.
“We’re glad to be here,” she said. “We couldn’t resist when June told us you were turning a hundred and twelve.”
“Thank you, Daisy,” she said. “That’s exactly it, I am one hundred and twelve years old.”
Louise and Violet brought her flowers, and June’s kids had made cards with glitter and glue. Ginger put her arms around Laurie and pulled a Calcasset Claws hat down on her head. “New merch,” she said, pronouncing the word “merch” like it were a cut of steak. “We just started making these in this beautiful green.” Directly into Laurie’s ear, she said, “I’m so happy for you, and you’re going to love being forty, darling. I hadn’t had practically any fun yet when I turned forty, and look at me now.”
When Ginger went off to play with June’s kids—and “play with,” in this case, meant that they told her very, very long stories about TV shows they had watched and she gasped and laughed and begged to hear more—Nick slowly walked over, and he was still so good and so solid. To be honest, she wasn’t sleeping well alone now, either. “Hi,” she said as he leaned over to kiss her on the cheek.
“Happy birthday,” he said, and he touched her cheekbone with one finger.
“Thank you. Thank you for coming. I’m glad we’re ending this adventure on a good note.”
“We are,” he said. “The last thing I want to do is make it so we don’t talk for ten years.” He held out a small square box wrapped in polka-dot paper with a red bow on top. “I did bring you a present, and I promise it’s not jewelry or anything weird.”
She took it from him. “Should I open it?”
“No,” he said. “Open it when you get home and then call me.”
“Wait, it’s a present we have to talk about on the phone? Did you get me bad news for my birthday?”
“Not at all. I just might have to explain some things about it.”
She frowned. “Are you sure I can’t open it now? Because you’re kind of killing me with the suspense here.”
He leaned over and said into her ear, “I’m just taking one more opportunity to tease you before you go home.” He did smell like Nick, like books and soap and apparently some kind of insane pheromone load, because her knees almost buckled when his hair tickled her temple. Oof, right to the nethers, she thought.
“Okay,” she said a little weakly.
“You’re blushing,” he whispered.
“You’re making me,” she whispered back.
“By doing what?”
“Standing there being all…you. Go stand over there.” She pointed to the table where the drinks were, and he smiled like he was choking on a laugh. He walked off, and June caught her eye and glanced down quizzically at the box. Laurie shrugged and went to drop it into her purse.
* * *
—
She got home around midnight, dropped off by Charlie rather than June because Bethie had woken up wanting only her mother, no exceptions, no fathers allowed. She got out of the car with a paper grocery bag dangling from her fingers by its handles, holding the box from Nick and a few other small gifts that were meant to comply with the request not to give her any gifts—or at least nothing that would be a pain to cart home with her on the plane.