12. Chapter Twelve #2
“Anyways, I had this big basketball game one Saturday morning. Our mom was away for work so our dad was in charge of us all weekend. Raquel thought it would be hilarious to sneak into my room that morning and draw all over my face with Mom’s lipstick and eyeliner.
And boy, that stuff stained, let me tell you. ”
I laugh, thinking of a younger version of Raquel, ever the artist, utilizing her mediums.
“Don’t forget, I painted your fingernails and toenails, too,” she says.
“How could I? They were hot pink and glittery! The guys gave me so much crap after that game.”
She snickers as he continues.
“Of course, I didn’t get up early enough to take it off, I was doing good just to get the makeup washed off. She drew a fake mustache on me and colored in my eyebrows with the eyeliner. I looked like a crazy person.”
“Well, you were,” Raquel says, nudging her brother’s shoulder.
“I almost busted her bedroom door down when I realized what she’d done,” Blake says. “Dad was so pissed and already at his wit’s end without Mom being home.”
“Being grounded was so worth it,” Raquel says, “seeing you play the championship game with hot pink, sparkly fingernails was the icing on top.”
“I still think those sparkles are what won us that game,” he says. “They blinded the other team.”
Raquel laughs loudly at those words.
“Do you have any siblings?” Blake asks me.
I shuffle in my seat. “Nope,” I say, “I’m an only child.”
“Bummer,” he says. He looks back at Raquel and adds, “We may have gotten on each other’s nerves when we were kids, but I don’t know what I’d do without my baby sis.” He grabs his glass and raises it, picking up his fork from the table. He dings it against the glass, getting everyone’s attention.
“To the birthday girl,” he says, in a toast, “to know you is to love you and I hope you have the best birthday possible.”
Everyone raises their glass and murmurs words of affection back to Raquel before taking a drink.
It isn’t long before the pizzas come out and conversation dies down. Everyone starts eating, mingling and laughing through bites of pizza and salad. Our waitress is working her butt off making sure everyone has refills and everything they need.
Once all of the dishes and empty cups have been cleared from the table, and stories of yesteryear discussed, Blake excuses himself.
A few moments later, he returns with a cake for the birthday girl and places it in front of her.
It’s tall, definitely a double-layer cake, covered in chocolate icing.
He pulls a lighter out of his pocket and flicks it on, proceeding to light the candles on the cake.
We all start singing to Raquel and cheer as she blows out the candles.
Blake disappears in search of more plates and a knife so we can cut the cake. I feel assaulted from all sides by the numerous conversations happening around me. Stories of Raquel from college, previous jobs, childhood friends, and so on. I just need a moment to myself to breathe.
No one pays any attention to me as I exit the party room. I walk over to the bar area and breathe a sigh of relief. It’s shockingly quiet here compared to the party room.
The bartender strides over to me as I sit down on a barstool. He’s tall, bearded, and dressed in a white band T-shirt that looks like it’s from the 80’s.
“What can I get you?” he asks.
“Actually, just a Dr. Pepper, if possible,” I say with a laugh. I play with my necklace, turning the stone over between my fingers. “I feel bad asking our waitress for another; she’s working her butt off.”
He laughs. “Coming right up.”
I stare at the alcohol bottles lining the shelves behind the bar. Part of me wants to experience that mind-numbing bliss again, but another part worries about disappointing Beth again. Though more so, I want to make Beth and now Amber proud of me.
He places my soda down in front of me and I bring the glass to my lips. The carbonation burns my nose as I take a sip.
“Hey.”
Raquel settles onto the barstool beside me. “You okay?” she asks.
“Yeah, it was just really loud and overwhelming in there,” I nod back toward the party room. “Just needed a minute.”
Raquel opens her mouth to say something but is interrupted when we hear my name shouted across the room.
“Thea!”
I swivel on the barstool to see Jake making his way up to the bar.
“Oh, brother,” I groan as I roll my eyes.
“Did you talk to Emily at the festival the other day?” he asks. Fury burns in his green eyes.
“Yeah,” I answer, a bit hesitantly.
“She dumped me.”
“And that’s her problem, how?” Raquel asks.
“She said you talked to her,” he huffs as he points at me. “I told you, my dad can ruin anyone in this town and that’s sland-”
“Oh, enough with your dad,” I snap, feeling bold. “If you don’t want me to say bad things about you, then you shouldn’t do bad things.”
Raquel snorts beside me.
“And just what are you laughing at?” he demands.
“Tiny man syndrome,” she says, holding her thumb and index finger barely apart. She giggles even harder now.
I don’t hide the laugh that bubbles out of my chest.
“You’ll regret this,” he says.
“ Jake, go find someone else to annoy,” I say, waving him away.
He opens his mouth to say something else but is distracted by a crash from across the restaurant. Raquel and I turn in the direction of the noise to see a waitress attempting to clean up two pizzas she’d dropped.
"Just remember, what goes around, comes around,” Jake says, bringing the attention back to him.
We swivel back on our barstools to face him. I sense a change in his demeanor. He seems calmer.
“Okay,” I say. “Whatever.”
“Buh-bye,” Raquel says to him, making a grand motion of waving. I take another sip of my soda.
Jake turns on his heels and barrels past another couple walking into the bar area as he heads for the front door.
“God, he is such a jerk,” I say as I turn back to Raquel. “I can’t believe I went out with him.”
“Yeah, even after I tried to warn you,” she says. “Though, I probably could have tried harder.”
I pick up my soda and take another drink. “At least Graham showed up that night. Kind of like a knight in shining armor. Or, rather, surfer on a golf cart.”
Raquel lets out a belly laugh at that. “Sorry,” she says, quieting herself down.
“Your brother seems nice,” I tell her.
“Yeah, I’m glad I have him. We fought like cats and dogs growing up, but we have a new understanding and appreciation for each other now.”
We sit in silence for a few moments.
“Is this everything you imagined and more for a birthday dinner?” I ask her as I finish my drink. The bartender swoops up the empty glass and gently tosses it behind the counter.
She nods. “If only Graham and Penny were here, too,” she says. “You haven’t had any cake yet! It’s amazing, you have to at least try it. You want to go back?” She points behind her to the party room.
“Sure,” I say, with a frown. Everything looks a little fuzzy around the edges, like when you’re so tired that your eyes can’t focus. I blink a few times trying to clear my vision but that only seems to make things worse. The room feels like it’s spinning around me.
“You okay?” Raquel asks.
“Yeah,” I reply. “I think I just turned my head too fast.” I reach up and rub my temples.
“I hate when I do that.”
I shake my head as if to shake the feeling away, but it doesn’t subside. I close my eyes, but that only makes the spinning sensation worse. It’s starting to feel like I’m on a cheap fair ride, being thrown around and around again.
“Thea?” Raquel’s voice sounds distant now.
I grip the edge of the bar and try to stand, hoping to steady the whirling inside my mind.
“Thea, are you okay?”
My limbs feel disconnected from my body and the floor seems to ripple beneath me.
My foot doesn’t find solid ground and I tumble off of the barstool. My head hits the concrete floor; searing pain cuts through the whirling chaos in my skull. I hear Raquel call my name once more and then everything goes dark.