Lucky in Love (15 page)

“You and your men, I swear!” Now, she was the one laughing.

“What men?  Jason is with you now, which means I hardly see him anymore and if I didn't love you, I'd have to hate you for that!  And Noah hardly even looks at me anymore, and forget about having a conversation.  And Gabe, well, I think of him as more of a boy, a really ripped boy. And he's not mine either, he's Janette's.” I had finally warmed up enough to keep up with Tara. In fact, the walking had given me such a burst of energy that I was now actively gesturing with both arms as I counted down the lack of men in my life.

“I guess you're right.  So, will you be bringing a man to your birthday dinner?” Tara’s smooth move to the dreaded birthday dinner almost landed her the same glare I had given Gabe the night before for doing the very same thing. I restrained myself, and moved on to other unpleasant things.

“Like who?” I certainly didn’t know anybody, and after Trevor I wasn’t about to engage in any speed dating again, in hopes of meeting anyone.

“Come on Lucky, I'm sure you know someone!  Have Jason set you up.” Her eyes lit up at the thought, while my face shifted into a grimace.

“No way!  Besides I know everyone he knows.  It's fine. I don't need a date.” I tried to sound both confident and dismissive at once, in hopes that it would squash the conversation all together.

“If you say so.  Hey, we should go shopping tomorrow and find you a birthday outfit.  It'll be my present to you!” Tara replied, excited at the prospect of doing some shopping.

“Ok, but you have to get something too!” I pointed my finger at her daringly and smiled again.

“Well, that's a given!” She grinned. A moment later she had broken through the invisible barrier I had built keeping her at a walk and was running briskly around the track, leaving me far behind as my fast walk evolved into a stroll, before coming to a complete standstill at the bleachers, where I took a seat and waited for Tara to finish her run around the track.

Another day had passed already and the dreaded birthday was upon me. Since it fell onto a Tuesday, I was grateful for the opportunity to treat it as just another day, at least for the first half. Aside from a few of the teachers who wished me a happy birthday in passing, nobody else had caught wind of my age shifting by another digit that day. Not that my students would have found this to be pertinent information, in any event, I was happy to treat it as though it were any other Tuesday.

Once school was out, Tara came swooping into my class room and ushered me out to the cars, so that we could take off on the shopping spree she had promised me, which was easily the most favorable perk of the day. We spent several hours browsing in and out of stores until we found the perfect dress for me. Unlike anything I would ordinarily own, it was both elegant and sexy, with its fitted black silhouette and cut out lace back, and there was no denying that in it, I felt more womanly than I could remember ever feeling before. Maybe that was a byproduct of having aged another year, but, while I had certainly felt feminine and attractive in the past, it wasn't the same way I felt when I put on my new dress. In it, I didn’t feel cute or girly, I felt like a woman, a woman who had confidence and strength. A woman who wasn’t afraid to be who she was and who realized that her beauty shone through, not in spite of that, but because of it. Sure, it was just a dress, but when I put that dress on, it fit like a second skin, a radiant, second skin that made my flaws disappear and only showed off my assets, some of which I hadn’t been aware I even owned. It was a good dress.

Ecstatic with my first official birthday present of the New Year, I was finally looking forward to celebrating. I was beaming as I came crashing through the front door with my shopping bags. Jason, Noah and Gabe were all in the living room when I walked in. Gabe and Noah were sitting there with both eyes glued to the TV, while Jason was busy working at the desk in the corner. He was the first to look up.

“There's the birthday girl!” he called out, sounding celebratory.

“Hi guys.  What are you doing just sitting around?  Shouldn't you be getting all spiffed up for my party?” Noah and Gabe turned their heads, both of them a little taken aback by my shift in attitude towards the evening’s events.

“What, we have tons of time!” Gabe said, already returning his focus to the television.

“If you say so.  I'm going to go get ready. You guys better be dressed and ready when I come back downstairs!”

I pointed my finger at them, playfully threatening them. Then, with all of my shopping bags still in hand, I hurried up the stairs eager to get ready and put on my little black dress.

A little more than an hour had passed when I came strutting back down the stairs, secretly looking forward to seeing the guys’ reaction to my newfound sensuality and sophistication. I was surprised to find the living room empty when I reached the bottom step. I craned my neck to try to get a look at the kitchen, but from what I could tell, it was empty.

“Ok, let’s go!  Who's riding with me?” I called out, certain that someone would make themselves known, but the house remained silent.

“Hello?  Jason?  Noah?  Gabe?  Anybody?” I called out once more, but I was greeted with silence again. Taking in the initial blow of realizing that I would be arriving at my party alone, I stood in the middle of the room with my gaze turned to the floor. After a moment the blur that had settled in my eyes cleared and I took notice of the strappy back stilettos I was wearing and suddenly remembered the feeling I had felt the whole time I had been upstairs getting ready. As I felt the earlier excitement return, I lifted my head and fell back into the confident stride I had taken on coming down those stairs. I reached for my purse and keys and opened the door to the cool, dark night. I smiled to myself as a light breeze washed over my face. There was a promise of change in the air and if I was lucky, it would bring me just what I had been missing. I pulled the door shut behind me and with my new found boldness, went out to greet it. After all, I was nothing, if not Lucky…

It’s My Party…

I arrived
at Ember’s a little after eight, but being as I was the guest of honor, I felt that it would only be right for me to make an entrance of sorts, even if it was due to the unexpected detour I had to take getting there. Apparently, they had begun one of those overnight construction jobs on the freeway, which naturally I hadn’t been counting on.

The restaurant portion of the building had already quieted down, while business at the bar, was surprisingly booming for a Tuesday night. In the absence of a hostess, I stood in the entry way for a moment looking around, hoping I would spot someone I recognized. That’s when Noah spotted me. His gaze had been scanning the bar, when it stopped dead on me. His eyes locked in my direction; he started to urge his feet to follow suit. He was already half-way across the room when I smiled and began to move toward him.

“Wow. You look great,” he said genuinely. I couldn’t help but notice that there was something in his tone that was different, uneasy even. Unable to put my finger on it, I put it out of my mind as Noah pulled me into the first hug we had shared in a long time.

“Thanks,” I said quietly, as my face was close to his. Again, I saw the slightest twinge of discomfort on his face as he released me and took a step back.

“Did you come alone?” he asked, trying to keep things moving along between us.

“Yup,” I nodded, breaking eye contact and looking around the room trying to seem as though it hadn’t bothered me to find out everyone had left without me.

“Where's Jason and Gabe?  I thought you'd ride with one of them.” He was starting to look a little disgruntled as his eyebrows began to scrunch up a little.

“I don't know, the last time I saw you guys was when I went up to get dressed.  By the time I came back down, everybody was gone,” I replied nonchalantly, still peering around at the crowd that had continued to gather at the bar.

“I'm sorry you had to drive yourself to your own party,” Noah frowned and I suddenly panicked. The last thing I wanted was for anyone to feel sorry for me. I quickly waved my hand dismissively and rambled way too fast, “It's totally fine. I'm a big girl, Noah, I drive myself all the time.” Realizing that I was speaking at an unusual speed, I was sure to flash him a broad smile when I had finished.

“But still, it's your birthday.” He had stopped frowning, but was now shaking his head clearly not happy with the way I had arrived at my party. Before I had another chance to reassure him, I saw Amy approaching out of the corner of my eye. Seeing the two of us talking didn’t seem to please her much, as her face had taken on that "I am so angry I could bite the butt out of a skunk" look I had seen twice before. The first, being the time she wandered into our living room half naked during our family brunch, and the most recent time being of course, the infamous night I had caught Noah and her on the couch together with their pants around their ankles. If she thought that swooping in between us to put her hand on Noah’s shoulder and stake her claim had been in any way subtle, she was sorely mistaken. Both Noah and I took notice and I fought hard not to roll my eyes while she was looking at me.

“Noah,” Amy said sounding sweet, but the stern undertone had been hard to miss. Pretending not to notice, Noah put his arm around her and pointing at me said, “Hey, Babe.  Have you two met?”

“Sure, you could call it that, you're the couch girl, right?” I was fully aware of what her name was, but couldn’t deny myself the satisfaction of seeing her face return to the expression of someone who had been busy biting skunks in the ass. She didn’t disappoint.

“It's Amy,” she replied haughtily, looking down on me from her six inch heels.

“Of course,” I nodded and smiled. For a moment we remained there in what was quickly becoming an awkward silence. Deciding that Amy had provided me with all the entertainment she was capable of, I took a step forward.

“So...is anyone else here yet?” I looked directly at Noah, purposely ignoring his date, who was still clutching his arm, digging her fancy manicure into the sleeves of his shirt.

“I’m not sure, I’ve been at the bar, but the hostess said your party has been set up in the back room.  Here, why don’t we all head back there together?”

Without giving anyone else an opportunity to say anything, Noah stepped ahead and led the way to the back of the room, causing Amy to lose her grip in the process. Much to her dismay, she wound up being the tail end of our three man train as we maneuvered around tables and the other patrons before reaching a room reserved for special events like tonight. The moment I turned the corner I was stunned to see a surprisingly large group of my friends and coworkers. Tara had put together quite the party. In the center of the room, was a long table set for at least twenty people, more than I had anticipated. Everyone was busy standing around mingling and sipping on drinks. With D. being closest to the door, he was the first to see us.

“There she is!” D. announced to the room. Instantly everyone turned their attention on me and birthday wishes began to flood the room. I took a few more steps into the room and D. rushed over to give me a hug.

“Happy Birthday, Baby,” he whispered in my ear.

“Thanks D.”

I smiled, then looking over his shoulder I spotted his wife, “Lisa!  I haven't seen you in forever!” As soon as D. let go I was being hugged a second time.

“I know!  How are you Birthday Girl?” Lisa was squeezing me tight. It had been ages since I had seen her, and yet,
 every time I did, it was the same old Lisa I used to sit at the bar counter with talking for hours, back when I still bartended for her and D.

After Lisa and D. I saw Gabe walk over. He wasn’t alone.

“I already wished you like 4 happy birthday’s today, so I'm done,” he said with a finality in his voice that made me grin.

“But I'm not, happy birthday, Girl!” Janette came at me with her arms wide open, throwing herself at me with such enthusiasm; we nearly wound up on the ground together.

“Janette!  What are you doing here?” I asked, clearly surprised to see her.

“Gabe told me about the party and I decided there was no way I could miss it!  So, here I am!” She was so excited displaying her presence, I almost felt as though she should have added a “ta-da” to the end of her statement.

Before I had a chance to reply, she was coming at me once more, throwing both of her arms around my neck and jumping up and down as though we had been long lost BFF’s, separated since high school.

Gabe stood back coolly, unwilling to participate in something he felt was utterly un-masculine and bordering on giddy. Gabe didn’t do giddy.

“I would have told you, but Janette wanted it to be a surprise,” he sighed, reaching for Janette’s arm and trying to pry her away from my throat.

“And that it was!” I said, smiling from ear to ear. As girlfriends went, I was happy to deal with a Janette over an Amy any day of the week.

As the onslaught of well wishes continued, I slowly made my way through the crowd, carefully taking in the faces that surrounded me. Happy at the thought that so many had showed up to share the evening with me, I joyfully maneuvered the room taking time to let everyone know how pleased I was to see them. Last, but not least, I found myself standing with Jason and Tara. The two of them had been standing quietly in the back corner of the room avoiding the crowd and quietly talking amongst themselves. Ordinarily I wouldn’t have interrupted, but since it was my party, I felt I was well within my right to barge in.