Chapter Thirty
Pink.
Everything pink. And frilly. Like a five-year-old girl decorated.
The color pink had barfed on every inch of the farmhouse living room.
Except for the dress her mother was wearing. It was not pink. It was red and very flirtatious. The tight-fitting number showed off Anne’s heavy bosom and hourglass figure.
“Surprise! Happy birthday!” Everyone yelled and clapped their hands as they stepped out from their hiding place in the hallway.
Aasia glided her gaze from the happy faces of her mother, Phoebe, Pedora, Tansy, CaDee, Margo, Ursula, and a man. A man Aasia had never met before. He had to be Harvey.
“Oh. Wow! You got me.” Aasia allowed her take out Chinese bag to slip out of her hand as she met Bear’s tight smile who was standing next to her. “Were you in on this?” she whispered.
“Don’t hate me.” His smile was forced.
“What do you think?” Anne rushed forward. Apparently, she’d already started the party in a tumbler filled with a cocktail.
“This is…wild?” Aasia monitored her words. She thought her mother had forgotten her birthday. Truthfully, Aasia would have given just about anything to have a party like this at eight, maybe even at ten, but not at thirty-one.
Anne’s mouth tapered at the corners. She looked concerned, which could only be considered foreign for her.
But it didn’t last long. “There’s someone I want you to meet.
“Baby, come here.” She called to the man who was a stranger among Aasia’s friends and family.
She grabbed his elbow and dragged him over.
He stood there, awkwardly, holding his paper plate and fork like it was a wand.
“Aasia, Harvey. We’re getting married.” Anne flashed her left hand.
A small diamond twinkled from her fourth finger.
From what Aasia could recall, this was the first time one of her mother’s “fiancé’s” had put a ring on her finger. This was a start.
“Nice to meet you, Harvey. This is Bear. My friend,” Aasia said.
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Anne said in a flirtatious tone. She always could be a full-blown, lip-stained, overly perfumed problem. She looked up at Bear with an innocent gaze that didn’t fool anyone. “I had no clue that Aasia had a boyfriend until Phoebe told me.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Aasia muttered.
Anne’s thin brow arched. “Well, if he’s not, he definitely should be.”
Aasia shot her a warning look.
“It’s nice to meet you both.” Bear greeted each of them with a handshake.
“So, you two are getting married?” Aasia asked with half-interest. She’d heard this a few times before and it usually fizzled within a few months.
“Yes, we are. Remember I mentioned it on the phone?” Anne’s brows tucked slightly.
“I remember.”
“Congratulations,” Bear said.
“Aren’t you just a darling,” Anne’s voice was as smooth as silk.
“I try to be.”
Aasia inwardly cringed. “When is the wedding?”
“Next week.” Anne looped her arm around Harvey’s possessively.
“That’s fast,” Aasia said.
“Your mother and I…well, we didn’t see the need in waiting,” Harvey said a little shyly.
Something told Aasia her mother insisted the nuptials be fast before Harvey could wise up and get away. “Why are you here?” Aasia realized her tone was a bit rude, but she didn’t trust her mother.
“To celebrate your birthday, silly goose. Phoebe and I wanted to make this a special birthday.”
“Phoebe was in on this too?” Aasia searched for her sister who stood with Tansy and Ursula chitchatting about her plans to go to college.
“Yes. We collaborated. The décor though was my idea,” Anne said proudly.
As Bear and Harvey discussed his career as a real estate guru, Aasia looked around the room.
Thank God for Bear. He could talk to anyone, and he calmed her erratic nervous system.
The Barbie pink room was enough to send an adult woman into level 3 cringe mode.
Pink just wasn’t Aasia’s color. It triggered her.
Her foster parent always made her wear pink dresses and pink hair bows because her motto was “Ladies should always be presentable”.
The whole “lady” thing kind of went on deaf ears considering a kid wasn’t a lady.
Phoebe now stood surrounded by the mass, wringing her hands. Maybe she was worried that Aasia hated the effort she and their mother had made, or maybe she and Anne had already butted heads once…or ten times. They tended to do that when they were together.
“To the birthday girl!” someone said and they all saluted her with their glasses.
Margo shoved a drink into Aasia’s hand. Aasia barely had time to thank her before she heard…
“Speech, Aasia.” Others joined in as motivation.
Oh for heaven’s sake. She hated giving speeches.
She took a sip of the wine and plastered a smile on her lips.
“It’s wonderful. Thank you all for coming.
I appreciate each one of you.” Those words were like an invisible switch.
Everyone disbursed, headed straight for the choice of platters of food on the table.
If there was one thing she knew about Anne, she could throw a party.
She’d been to enough of them in her lifetime.
“You look like you could chew through a rusty nail,” Bear whispered in her ear, keep a smile on his lips.
“That obvious, huh?” she whispered back.
“To everyone but your mother.”
“So, you met her now you understand.”
“Yeah, and her bubbly personality.” He chuckled. “At least she’s trying.”
She lifted her gaze, meeting his. “Trying to show her flavor of the month that she is mother of the year.”
“Are you sure? She seemed to worry about what you were thinking.”
“You don’t understand, Bear.” She sighed.
“No, I guess I don’t, but whatever her intentions are you have your best friends here to celebrate you.”
“How did this all happen?” She pressed her lips in a hard line. “You taking me to dinner was to get me away from the house?”
“You might have to ask Phoebe. I got a call from her inviting me. I took you to dinner because I wanted to be with you. I’m here because I want to be near you.”
Something in his expression melted her like an ice cube under a torch flame. “I guess I need to stop being negative and be grateful.”
He nodded. “I’m here with you in case things go south.”
His words of promise hit home on how much she’d come to rely on him.
Ursula and CaDee rushed over, first Ursula drawing Aasia in for a tight hug, then CaDee who said in an amused tone, “Did Barbie throw up in here?”
“Phoebe and Anne have always liked pink,” Aasia felt like she needed to defend her family some. Although they’d never win any awards for being the family of the year, they were her family. And they’d gone to the trouble of the party. That meant something.
Pedora came up, rolling her eyes. “Sorry. There was nothing I could do.”
“It’s okay,” Aasia assured her.
Hearing her mother’s laughter, she followed the sound. She was proudly telling Margo and Harvey about the time she met a popular rock star and stayed with him in his mansion for six months.
Aasia would have much rather had a more intimate party. Not everyone should hear about her mother’s sordid past.
The house felt more like a crowded elevator than a spacious farmhouse.
The air also smelled suspiciously of sage. Her mother believed in the power of burning out the bad demons before and after any event.
Aasia dragged herself over to refill her wine glass.
“Do you hate me?” Phoebe came up to ask.
Aasia narrowed her gaze. “Hate you? Why? Were you in charge of the decorations?”
Phoebe laughed. “I warned her not to buy the pink, but does she ever listen?”
“No, she doesn’t but I guess I have to concede that at least she tried,” Aasia murmured. “Harvey seems like a nice guy. Not her typical choice in a man. He doesn’t have one tattoo.” This brought Aasia’s gaze to her own sun tattoo. She was getting used to seeing it.
“I agree. I hope she doesn’t ruin things,” Phoebe said in a hushed tone.
Aasia looked around and everyone seemed to be having a good time, which made it easy for her to genuinely smile. It helped that the drinks were flowing. “It’s nice to see my people in one room.”
“Please don’t mention…you know.” Phoebe seemed almost frantic.
“I wouldn’t do that. Whatever you decide I need to accept your decision.” That was a lot for Aasia to say. Yet she knew she didn’t have a right to treat Phoebe like she couldn’t make her own choices.
The lights clicked off and Anne stepped out of the kitchen carrying an extravagant three-layer cake lit with so many candles that one mishap could catch the house on fire.
The guests sang Happy Birthday and Aasia hated being in the spotlight.
As the candles flickered, she looked around at all her friends and family, but only one person truly made her feel blessed. Bear winked at her and she smiled.
“Blow them out, honey!” Anne clapped her hands in excitement.
“How old do you think I am?” Aasia said, half-joking.
“Twenty, right? Since I’m forty and holding.”
Aasia wouldn’t touch that with a ten-foot pole. Blowing out the candles, her gaze naturally shifted to Bear. He was her wish.
Over the next hour the food and cake started to dwindle, and people started to head toward the exit.
Aasia and Bear were saying goodbye to the last guests when they heard raised voices coming from the kitchen.
She and Bear glanced at each other and quickly made their way into the room where Pedora and Anne were standing toe-to-toe and Phoebe was outside of the duo looking wide-eyed and pale.
“I’m her mother and I say that she shouldn’t put her child up for adoption.” Anne was red-faced, matching her dress.
Poor Harvey stood in the corner looking like he’d been thrown into a den of wolves.
“And I’m only saying that she should make up her own mind. This is her life, her pregnancy. Whatever she decides we should support her,” Pedroa said in her usual calm tone.
Anne wasn’t having it. “Of course, you’d think that.”
“Why would you say that?”