Inexplicably, emotions tighten my throat. No team has ever celebrated my birthday before. I blow out the candle to avoid having to speak.
“I hope that’s okay.” Worry starts to cross their faces when I don’t say anything.
“It’s great. Thank you.” Truth be told, except for a message from Angel, I wasn’t expecting this day to be any different than another. It’s a Friday before a three-day weekend and that’s really all I have going for me.
“You really didn’t have to do this. It’s not a big deal,” I say, blushing.
“How old are you?” Febin asks. Febin is naturally blunt and doesn’t mean it in an offensive way. His brain just works more efficiently than a neurotypical brain and I’ve grown used to it.
“I’m twenty-nine,” I say.
“You have to celebrate the last birthday of your twenties,” Kate says.
“I’m basically an old woman,” I say. “I drink tea, go to bed by nine, and I get angry when youths are on my lawn.”
Everyone laughs and any remaining tension melts away.
I still feel Nathaniel watching my profile. “Are you doing anything tonight?” he asks.
My heart trips and flails like the comedic relief on a sitcom.
“I was just gonna have a low-key evening with my roommate,” I say. No one needs to know my roommate is a temperamental fish.
“We should go out.” Nathaniel sits up straighter. “You can bring your roommate, but we should definitely hit Beaker Brewery.”
At the mention of the local brewery, the others begin to talk excitedly, already texting their partners the plans for the evening.
“Oh, I don’t really drink very much,” I say. The last thing I need is even less control over myself.
“Well then we’ll drink to celebrate your birthday and you can just hang out.”
“They also have shuffleboard so you’ll be right at home, grandma,” Jared teases.
I pretend to glare at him. “Okay. Just for a little bit.”
I’m happy and smiling but I can’t help feeling like this is a very bad idea.
But I have been working really hard. And it’s my birthday. One night out. Surely I can celebrate a little. Just because they’re all being nice for my birthday, doesn’t mean we’re actually friends. It doesn’t mean I’m forming connections.
