Chapter Eighteen
Maisie
Three Months Later
“Please tell me you didn’t forget the balloons,” I say as Charlotte enters the event hall we rented for the evening, two bags in hand but no balloons in sight.
“Relax, birthday-zilla. They’re in the car. I didn’t have enough hands to carry all this in at once.” She holds up the bags in her hands. “Where do you want these?”
“Over there.” I point to the long table against the wall.
“Mac better damn well appreciate all the effort we’ve all gone through for this party. Seems a bit over the top if you ask me.”
“If I remember right, we threw quite the party for you when you turned twenty-one,” I remind her. Lyric and I spent weeks planning it.
“Yeah, but that was twenty-one. He’s turning twenty-two. It’s not even a big birthday.”
“Well, it’s big to me. It’s the first birthday of his that we’ll have spent together, and I want to make it memorable. Now stop questioning my motives and go put those on the table.”
“Yes, drill sergeant.” She does a mock salute, though it doesn’t turn out very well given the bags she’s holding. All she really manages to do is hit herself in the face with one.
“Mais.” I turn to see Lyric approaching, clearly fighting with the string on the foil swirls that are meant to be hung from the ceiling, but thus far have not gotten there. “I’m having a heck of a time.” She huffs out a breath of frustration. “Will you see if you can get this dang thing unknotted?”
“Of course.” I take the decorations from her, making my way to one of the various tables set up throughout the space before taking a seat. Spreading out the swirls, I work through the two knots Lyric was fighting with, though it takes me far longer than I anticipate.
“You’re really going all out on this,” Lyric says, gesturing around the large room.
“I just... I want to make this birthday special.”
“Of course you do. It’s the first birthday you’re celebrating together.”
“See, you get it. Char thinks I’m nuts.”
“She does not. She just doesn’t understand large, public displays of affection.”
“It’s a birthday party.”
“A birthday party you’re jumping through hoops to make perfect because it’s for someone you love.
Do you know what Char did for River’s birthday?
She surprised him with breakfast in bed and that’s where they stayed the entire day.
Though I’d rather not think about what they were doing. ” She crinkles her nose.
“Oh, I intend to spend some of his birthday in bed.” I let out a soft chuckle. “But first, I want to throw a party so epic that no other birthday party will ever compare. There,” I announce, finishing the last knot.
“And so you will.” She takes the decorations, pushing to a stand.
“We will,” I correct her. “None of this would have been possible without your help.”
“Please. All I’m doing is hanging decorations. River and Kai are doing the real work. I can’t believe those two managed to build an entire set for photo ops. Who knew they were so handy?” She chuckles.
“Well, either way, you are all making this possible, and I can’t thank you enough for all your help.”
“Of course. That’s what friends are for.” She smiles, the action lighting up her entire face.
Most days, I’m convinced that Lyric is a saint sent down from the heavens to share her goodness with the world. She is a light in an otherwise dark tunnel, and I won’t ever not be grateful for the twist of fate that put us together freshman year.
“Here are your balloons, bitch.” Char appears, holding four bouquets of balloons so large it’s a wonder she doesn’t float away.
I have to bite back a laugh at the stark contrast between my two best friends.
“Finally,” I tease, rising to meet her. “Let me take these two.” I separate two of the bouquets, taking them from her. “If you could tie those off by the door.” I gesture to the remaining balloons in her hand. “I’ll take care of these.”
“Who needs this many damn balloons anyway?” She huffs, blowing away a balloon that seems to really like her hair.
“It’s not a birthday party without balloons.”
“I’m going to go get these taken care of,” Lyric says, gracefully bowing out, foil swirls in hand. Not that I can blame her. Char and I fight like we’re sisters ninety percent of the time, and poor Lyric seems to always get caught in the crossfire.
“Thank you,” I call after her as she walks away. “As for you.” I turn back to Char. “Stop bitching and help or go home and we’ll make do without you.”
“Stop it. You know I’m just busting your balls.” She gives me a cheeky grin.
“In case you’ve forgotten, I don’t have balls.”
“I meant figuratively, and you know it.” She huffs out a laugh. “You need to lighten up, Mais. It’s just a birthday party. And with all the thought and planning you’ve put into it, it’s going to be a killer one.”
“Thank you for saying so.”
She gives me a nod before heading toward the door to place her balloons.
I spin around, trying to figure out where I want to place the other two, when Kai appears, immediately reaching out to take the bouquets from me.
“I’ve got the perfect spot,” he says as if reading my mind.
“Thank you.” I reach out, giving his forearm an appreciative squeeze. “Any idea where my brother is?” I ask, knowing if anyone knows it’s Kai.
“Last I heard, he was picking up the cupcakes. Still can’t believe you trusted him with that task.”
“He has the biggest trunk, and it’s a lot of cupcakes.”
“How many people are you expecting?”
“Well, this is Macallan, so... a lot. That man has more friends than anyone I’ve ever met, and then of course, I had to invite the entire football team.”
“Now I see why you rented an entire event hall.”
“Exactly.” I blow out a hard breath.
“I’ll go get these placed.” He holds the balloons in his hands higher.
“Thank you.” I turn my attention back to placing tablecloths after he walks away, knowing if I don’t get a move on, there’s no way I’m going to get this all done and have time to go home and get ready.
Once I have all the tablecloths on and the center pieces in place, I take a step back to look over the room.
Given that when we started a few hours ago it was a barren room with concrete floors and not a single decoration, I’d say we’ve done rather well transforming it.
Foil spirals dangle from the ceiling, catching the light just so, casting shapes onto the floor.
There are fifteen ten-foot tables, all dressed.
In the corner of the room is a small stage, where the DJ I hired for the night is already setting up.
Balloons on either side of the entrance, compliments of Kai, while the other two I placed on either side of the bar.
A photo op area is set up where guests can pose for professional photographs.
And then along the back wall are two ten-foot tables pushed together where the pizza will be placed later on when it gets here, right alongside the cupcakes.
“Well, sis.” Jackson steps up next to me, looking over the room much like I was just doing. “I don’t know about you, but I think perhaps you outdid yourself.”
“Perhaps. But this is his last birthday before he starts medical school, and since we still don’t know where he’s going, it might be the only one I get with him for a while.”
“You worried he’s going to end up in Ohio?”
“A little,” I admit, knowing that out of all the schools he applied to, that one is the farthest. And since I still have a full year left here.
.. I shake off the thought. Every time I give myself time to really consider what the future might look like for us, that we might be separated for an entire year at a minimum, it honestly terrifies me.
Macallan and I wasted so much time and now that we’re finally together, we’re facing being separated all over again. The circumstances are much different, of course, but that doesn’t really change the fact that the thought makes me want to curl into a ball and cry.
“What’s the worst-case scenario if he does end up in Ohio? No chance you two don’t stick it out. I’ve seen the way he looks at you, and while sometimes I’d like to punch his face off for eyeing my sister the way he does, I can’t imagine he’s going to let you slip through his fingers so easily.”
“I don’t know...”
“Is that why you’re doing all this? Because you’re trying to prove you’re worthy of fighting for?”
“No... I don’t know. Maybe.” I blow out a breath, having not considered that maybe that’s why I’ve gone through so much trouble.
“When does he find out?”
“Should be any day now.”
“Well, for what it’s worth, I think you two will be just fine no matter where he ends up.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Being right is kind of my thing.” He knocks his shoulder against mine.
“And here we go again.” I roll my eyes with a laugh.
“What? I’m just speaking the truth.”
“Humble as ever.”
“I seem to remember being right about a great many things lately. I called Char getting pregnant weeks ago.”
His words cause all the blood to drain from my face.
“What did you just say?”
“What?” He looks at me like I’ve grown a second head, moments before realization dawns. “She hasn’t told you?”
“The more important question is how the hell do you know?”
“River told Kai. Kai told me.”
“You three act like teenage girls with the way you gossip.” I shake my head, trying to wrap my head around the fact that Charlotte is pregnant.
I find her at the end of the bar with Lyric, the two laughing at something, presumably River, who appears tangled in streamers just a few feet from them. Though how he accomplished such a thing is beyond me.
I study her for a long moment. The glow of her skin. The brightness of her smile. I should have seen it because somehow it seems so obvious now, and my heart swells at the thought.