Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
STELLA
Because of my late night, I sleep in and skip my run. I wake to the sound of nibling voices and the clatter of dishes coming from the kitchen.
I text Naomi.
STELLA: How much time do I have before my breakfast delivery?
NAOMI: Ten minutes.
Not enough time for a shower; just a visit to the bathroom.
A glance in the mirror reminds me of the horrendous mistake I made yesterday.
Having hair this short gives me a serious bedhead.
Drew said the style looks good. I have two choices: trust him, or get extensions.
It’s financially cheaper to trust, so until my sisters give me their take, I’ll hold off on making an appointment at a salon.
I wet it down, which doesn’t look much better than before, but at least it’s not sticking straight up.
I climb back in bed. While I wait, last night with Drew runs through my mind as if it’s my new favorite movie.
Making dinner together. The birthday cake.
Listening to him play guitar. His voice gave me shivers, it’s so beautiful.
I run my thumb over the tips of my fingers.
They’re still tender, but I loved the lesson.
The pieces of yesterday come together to make the pain of everything else that happened this weekend bearable.
My door finally creaks open. I close my eyes and slow my breathing.
There are whispers and childish giggles as they creep closer to the bed.
It’s hard to keep my expression neutral and not let the smile I feel show on my lips.
Even harder when they stop next to the bed, and little Penelope’s breath blows on my face.
It’s as if she’s testing my commitment to the act.
“Three, two, one,” Naomi whispers.
“Happy birthday,” they yell.
I startle “awake” and widen my eyes as five sets look at me. I sit up with a yawn and a stretch. Naomi’s jaw drops when she sees my hair. Conrad’s eyes widen.
“What—” she starts, but I interrupt. I don’t want to talk about it right now.
“Breakfast in bed!” I exclaim. The tray carries a plate stacked with pancakes, smothered in syrup, whipped cream, and berries. “You shouldn’t have!”
“For your birfday,” Penelope says with a little hop.
I pull her in to hug her. Then Trevor and Lola.
“I know you weren’t asleep,” Lola tells me in a whisper. “You were pretending.”
“I can’t get anything past you.”
“I won’t tell.”
“Always such a good big sister.”
“Like you!” Lola says before pulling away. Her nose scrunches like she smells something bad. “But you cut your hair.”
All the kids pile on the bed while I eat. Each one tells me what they did to make the pancakes, and I repeat over and over how delicious they are. By the time I’m done, my fingers are sticky with syrup and I feel a little sick from the sugar. Totally worth the time I get to spend with my niblings.
Naomi comes back into the room to grab the tray. “Okay guys, it’s time to clean the kitchen.”
Lots of groans follow the pronouncement, but they slowly slip from my bed. Lola is quite the thespian. I laugh at her dramatics as she shuffles toward the door with her head hung low.
“I’ll help,” I volunteer, and pull back the blanket to join them.
“No.” Naomi shakes her head. “It’s your birthday. No house chores for you. We’ve got it. Don’t we, kids?”
More grumbles.
Naomi hustles them out of my room, but stops at the door and turns back to look at me. She would point if her hands weren’t holding the tray.
“I need to hear all about this weekend. And your hair! Don’t think you’ve gotten out of it just because you came home last night after I was in bed.”
She shuts the door behind her. My whole family will want a rundown of the engagement party. I don’t think I can talk about it. It’s too recent.
Today I turn thirty-five years old. There’s a bit of mourning. This is not where I thought I’d be in my life fifteen years ago. Or even three years ago. Or one.
But this isn’t where I’ll be next year. I have one more week of managing the library, and then I’ll begin looking for a house. I’ll keep searching for opportunities at other libraries that might interest me. I’m the author of my life. It’s past time I stop waiting and start creating.
At noon, we arrive at my parents’ house for lunch and a pool party. We have another month of good weather here in Arizona before it gets too cold for a dip in the water. Lola and Trevor are out of the van and inside before Naomi unbuckles her seatbelt. Their cousins have already arrived.
Once Penelope is out of her booster seat, she runs after her siblings. Naomi, Conrad, and I follow much slower.
When I walk into the kitchen, I’m met with a chorus of “happy birthday,” from my sisters and Mom, followed by gasps.
Conrad greets everyone, but doesn’t stop to chat.
He goes onto the back patio to join Dad.
All the other husbands are already out there.
I guess it takes five men to watch meat cook on a grill.
My niblings, all but the two youngest in the play pen, are outside running around with a soccer ball.
“You cut your hair!” Roe says, but instead of being shocked, she’s excited. “It’s so cute! I love it.” She comes over and runs her fingers through the ends.
“You really think it looks okay? It was a rash decision.”
“You look amazing! Whoever cut it did a great job with the layering. It adds a lot of width to your longer face. You look so good!”
If Roe had hesitated at all, I would wonder if she really meant her words, but she didn't. Her excitement makes me excited.
“Could you help me figure out what to do with it?” I ask.
Her expression brightens even more. She loves to be helpful with her sisters’ beauty routines. “I’ll get you some product that will define the wave you’ve got going on.”
“Thanks. I was regretting the decision and contemplating extensions.”
She slaps my upper arm, albeit gently. “Don’t you dare. It looks really good.”
I grab a knife and start cutting Naomi’s homemade brioche rolls for burgers, but Mom takes them from my hands and guides me to the table.
“It’s your birthday,” she says. “Sit down and relax. You’re not allowed to help today.”
I know the rule, and I know better than to break it. I sit at the table and watch the others finish preparing the potato salad, fruit salad, chips with salsa, baked beans, coleslaw, and a vegetable platter.
“We have at least ten minutes before someone makes their way inside,” my sister-in-law Avery says. “Stella, tell us about the engagement party on Friday.”
“And why you came home twenty-four hours later,” Naomi adds.
That gets everyone’s attention.
“You disappeared for a whole day?” Roe says, completely interested. “This is hot tea I’ve got to have.”
I need something to hold on to, so I go to the play pen and pick up Kit’s son Luke. He’s almost two years old and loves to be held. He sticks a thumb in his mouth and wraps an arm around my neck. I sway, more to comfort me than him.
All I can give them is a broad overview, not the nitty-gritty.
“Mallory doesn’t want me to be a part of her wedding,” I say slowly.
“There’s some gossip going around the wedding party about me being jealous of her.
It’s gotten completely out of control. At the engagement party, it was very apparent that I was not welcome. ” My throat burns. “That’s it.”
“That’s awful,” Naomi says into the silence. “I hate that they treated you like that. And then you disappeared for a day?”
I nod. “Do you remember Andy Jr. who lived down the street with Helen?”
Mom nods. “Yeah, that poor family. Their dad abandoned them.”
I knew Drew’s parents were divorced, but I didn’t know the family was abandoned. That can really mess with a kid, and it’s no surprise Drew became a hooligan afterward.
“I remember him,” Kit says. “He’s the one who stole my rollerblades then climbed a tree and wedged them in the highest branches he could reach. What does he have to do with all of this?”
Before I can explain, Roe snaps her fingers. “I remember him, too. His sister was in school with me, and whenever she came over, he’d follow. He had the biggest crush on Stella!”
My cheeks heat. “He did not have a crush on me.”
“He did!” Kit joins in. “I forgot, but everyone knew.”
Roe’s eyes go wide. “Did he track you down and profess his undying love? Oh. My. Gosh. He did!”
She’s pointing at my face. I can feel how red it is. She does not need to make sure everyone else notices too.
This conversation is not going the direction I want it to go, but it’s a surprisingly good distraction from the engagement party and lightens the mood of the whole room. I am okay going down this tangent.
“Why would you say he had a crush on me?” I ask. “I was a teenager. He was a kid.”
“Um, because he would follow you around like a puppy?” Roe says.
Kit joins in. “You were the only person who was nice to him. Of course he had a crush.”
My face turns up the heat another notch.
Roe isn’t done yet. “Do you remember that Valentine’s Day when a big box of chocolate was left on the porch for you? They were from him. He saved up his allowance for months to afford it.”
It’s sweet, but does it even matter? He was ten. I bet he doesn’t remember whatever crush he once had on me, so it’s annoying that Roe does.
“Why didn’t you tell me this years ago?” I ask. “I spent a lot of time trying to figure out who left those chocolates.”
“Lauren made me promise not to tell,” Roe explains.
“I didn’t realize promises expired,” I say dryly.
“Wait, wait, wait.” Avery lays the bread knife next to the basket of sliced rolls. “What about this guy now? He tracked you down all these years later and still loves you?”