CHAPTER THREE
POPPY
What does a girl wear to her welcome-back-happy-birthday-sorry-about-your-divorce party? Or maybe I’m officially a woman as of today? It definitely doesn’t happen when you turn eighteen like everyone says. I was still very much a girl. Maybe it should have happened when I had Aiden, but I was still very young. Truth be told, sometimes I still don’t feel like an adult. But getting a divorce? Surely that puts me over the mark.
I study myself in the full length mirror in the corner of my room. I’m still only wearing my towel, holding up dress after dress in front of me and possibly putting too much thought into my attire. What says, “Look at me, I’m cute and shit but I’m not trying to overcompensate from my recent rejection but also I’m not trying to be so cute you want to hit on me” or something like that?
In the end, I settle on the faded red sundress. It hugs me around the chest and helps prop up what little I have. They’ve needed some help ever since I breastfed Aiden. The dress falls a little above my knees and I pair it with flat strappy sandals. I know better than to wear heels on a night like this. Everyone is going to be buying me drinks and shots. It will be interesting to go from “here’s a shot for your birthday” to “sorry about your divorce, here’s a shot” and back again.
Once I’m done, I head downstairs to check on Aiden, who’s spending time with my dad in the garage.
“You guys okay?” I ask, as I pull the door to the garage open. But I stop dead in my tracks as soon as my eyes land on them. The man who raised me and my dear, sweet son both have their shirts off and they’re leaned far over the popped hood of my dad’s old truck. Ass cracks. Two sweaty, grease stained ass cracks are on full display.
“Yeah, mom,” he says, turning back toward me. “We’re all good here. Have fun at your party.”
I’m a little shocked to see him being so rugged and hands on. But then again, my dad will pretty much pull anyone into his projects and somehow everyone loves it. Maybe them getting to spend more time together could be a really good thing for Aiden.
“Okay, well make sure you shower before bed and brush your teeth and don’t forget to have your gym bag ready for tom—”
“Moooooom, I know,” he says, rolling his eyes.
“Go on, honey, we got this,” my dad says.
“You’re right, okay,” I say, waving one last time before closing the door again.
I’m not usually a hovering mom but I’m nervous about tonight and seeing everyone. I’m especially nervous and excited to see Emma. We were best friends up until I moved away. We kept in touch after that but it wasn’t the same. I’ve missed her.
Behind the wheel of my car and navigating to Hop’s Bar feels so very familiar. I was too young to go there before I moved, but everyone used to drive past the bar to get to the empty field we all used to illegally drink in too. Well, it wasn’t completely empty. Over the years a fire pit had been made and some very large logs for seating had been placed around. It makes me wonder if it’s all still there.
I pull into the gravel parking lot and shut off the engine. Deep breaths. Everyone coming loves you. There’s nothing to be nervous about. When Wayne and I were together, we didn’t really go out with friends a lot. And we definitely didn’t whenever we’d come back to visit my parents. The more I think about it, the more it seemed like he felt he was too good. Too good for this town, too good for my friends, maybe even too good for me.
I push those negative thoughts aside, not wanting to give them the space to ruin my entire night. Then, I step out and head toward the door, feeling the full spectrum of feels about what’s on the other side.
“There’s the birthday girl!” My brother Theo’s words over the crowd are the first thing I hear, followed by cheers and clapping.
In the far corner of the bar next to the dance floor, I spot Theo with his arm around Ellie surrounded by everyone else. Emma is front and center, holding up a drink toward me. Wade, Emma’s cousin, is behind the bar waving in my direction. Garret is staring at Kelly Ann, who’s trying her best to ignore him. Parker, who I haven’t seen in ages, is sitting off to the side. There’s a few others who look very familiar as well, though it’s been a long time since I’ve seen them outside of social media updates.
I walk toward them, waving and smiling, feeling grateful they’re all here but still nervous about all the questions I might have to field or the looks of pity they might give me. But I need to push that all aside. This night is about fun and feeling good. The rest can be dealt with later.
“Happy birthday, bestie,” Emma says, pulling me in for a hug.
“Thank you,” I say, embracing her and delighted she still thinks of me as her bestie.
“I know we have a lot of catching up to do and we will. I want it to be like you never moved away,” she says, low in my ear. “But we will save the intense stuff for when you come to my place for a sleepover.”
“A sleepover?” I ask, laughing.
“We are never too old for slumber parties,” Emma says, pulling back to look at me.
She always did have a way of comforting me. God, I’ve missed her. I agree to a slumber party in the very near future and then move to say hello to Kelly Ann and Garret, who seem to be awkwardly avoiding each other. Their hate for one another runs deep. All the way back to sophomore year or something, I believe. Which is very inconvenient for them considering Garret is best friends with my brother and Kelly Ann is best friends with Ellie. Up until recently, Theo and Ellie were best friends as well. Now, they’re dating and living together, which I’m sure makes it even harder for the two frenemies to avoid one another.
“Happy birthday, Poppy,” a deep voice from behind me says.
I turn to find Parker smiling sweetly. The features of his face are still the same as they were in high school. Pretty hazel eyes framed with tanned skin and messy brown hair. Except I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the unshaved scruff over his jawline and the subtle signs of aging he’s taken in stride. He’s the same Parker and yet also very different. That’s definitely the same warm smile that sat behind me in English. But it belongs to a man now, not the boy I knew.
“Thank you, Parker,” I say, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. If I didn’t know better, I’d say there’s a warmth in my cheeks as he looks down at me.
“Can I get you a drink?” He asks.
“Sure, that would be great.”
“What would you like?” He asks.
He’s got a drink in his hand but I can’t tell what it is, maybe something mixed with Coke. “I’ll just have what you’re having.”
Parker presses his lips together and runs his hand through his hair. Oh. I like when he does that.
“This is… just Coke,” he says. “I don’t drink anymore. It's a recent change.”
“Oh,” I say, surprised. “I’m sorry, that was dumb of me.”
“No, don’t apologize,” he says, letting out a small laugh. “The truth is, I drank way too much when I was younger and my efforts to cut back weren’t working so I decided to stop altogether.”
“But is it hard for you to be here?”
“Not really,” he says. “After I decided not to drink anymore, that was kind of it. I just didn’t. I’m lucky in that regard. It’s not as easy for some.”
“Okay, well tell Wade I’d like the Birthday Special,” I say. Even though I wasn’t old enough to drink here before I moved, I heard he has a special drink for birthdays that always sounded so over the top to me. But it’s supposed to taste exactly like birthday cake so I can’t resist finding out.
“Coming right up,” Parker says.
Before leaving he presses his hand to my side, giving it a little squeeze. Oh my. The warmth from his touch lingers longer than I expect. Aside from the hugs from my brother, dad, and son, Parker is the first man outside my husband to touch me in many years. Well, unless you count the other day when I shook the pediatrician’s hand. He’s like forty years older than me and walks with a distinct limp. I had to take Aiden for his sports physical for tryouts tomorrow. But yeah, I don’t think that counts.
“Here you are,” Parker says, reappearing in front of me. “One Birthday Special.”
The drink itself looks a little ridiculous. Served in a tall glass, the color of the liquid is an off-white like maybe there's cream liquor in it. It’s topped with whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles to mimic a cake.
“Wow.” I laugh. I take a sip through the pink crazy straw protruding and am delighted to find it tastes exactly like birthday cake.
“Is it everything you dreamed it would be?” He asks.
“It is,” I say. “It’s just like cake.”
“I know, Wade gave me one on my birthday a while back. I think he meant it to be a joke because of how it looks but I thought it tasted pretty good,” he says, laughing.
I nod, feeling a pause in the conversation so I re-direct. “So I hear you work at the school now?”
“Yeah, I’m the gym teacher and coach the varsity baseball team,” he says. “Plus I’ve got Little League this summer.”
“No way,” I say. “My son plays baseball. He’ll be at tryouts tomorrow. He’s so nervous.”
“Oh awesome. I was looking over the list today and thought I recognized his name,” he says. “Tell him there’s no need to be nervous. Everyone makes the team.”
“Oh I know that,” I say. “He’s just very serious about his playing and wants to impress.”
“I’m sure he’ll be great. He’s your son after all,” he says before taking a sip of his Coke.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he’s the one blushing now.