Damn. I really loved the sound of that.
I felt better the moment Karla opened her door for me. I pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead. “You can’t go disappearing like that. You scared me.”
“Sorry, I had something to handle,” she said as we dropped our embrace. Karla gestured toward her apartment, and that was when I took notice of the birthday decorations. The space was decked out with balloons and streamers. There was even a banner hanging that had the words “Happy Birthday, Ash!” written across it. On the dining room table was a gift box, and on a serving platter was a stack of twenty-seven powdered donuts, with a candle on top of it.
I was instantly punched in my gut from the core memory Karla had unlocked.
As I stared at the donuts, it felt as if Rian was standing right there beside them. How did she remember that after all this time?
I turned toward Karla, and she had the biggest smile on her face. “Happy Birthday!” she squeaked, tossing her hands into the air from excitement.
Fuck me.
I loved her.
I fucking loved her.
“You remembered my birthday?” I asked.
“Of course I did. I remember all the important dates. Chase told me you didn’t celebrate a lot, so I didn’t bring it up all day.But I don’t know. It just didn’t feel right to not celebrate you. And I’m so thankful you were born, so yeah, I had to celebrate you.”
I pulled her into a hug and held her tighter than I’d ever held another. She smelled like heaven and felt like forever in my arms. “Thank you,” I whispered, pressing my mouth to her forehead. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now come over, you have to blow out your candle,” Karla said. She sat down on one side of the table, behind the donut cake.
I sat across from her.
She held up the candle. “I don’t have any lighters, so just pretend it’s lit,” she said with a snicker to her voice.
I couldn’t stop cheesing like a damn fool as I blew out the unlit candle. I didn’t even make a wish. It had already come true.
“Karla?”
“Yes?”
I love you.
“You’re my best friend.”
And I love you.
I love you, I love you, I love you.
Her cheeks colored, and then she held a donut out toward me.
We sat at that dining room table, stuffing our mouths with powdered donuts while we sipped on glasses of neat whiskey. When a moment of calmness swept over everything, I caught myself smiling toward her like a goof. I couldn’t help it. She made me smile so hard that my cheeks were starting to hurt. She wasn’t even doing anything remarkable at the time, either. All she was doing was bending down and petting Royce, who was always on the hunt for cuddles from her. I didn’t blame him. I loved those cuddles, too.
She had some powdered sugar sprinkled across her nose, and all I wanted to do was kiss it off. Crazy how I was sittingin what would one day be one of my favorite little memories. Karla petting Royce with a powdered-sugar nose.
When I thought about heaven, I’d now think of this.
“Oh! I almost forgot your gift,” Karla said as she reached for the small box on the table. She held it in my direction and smiled.
I took the gift box and began to rip off the wrapping paper. The moment I did, I felt my chest tighten. The backs of my eyes stung with emotion. Sitting in a shadow box was a tiny red truck. A tiny red truck that once broke into a million pieces.
“Karla...” I started, but my words faded away as I stared at the tiny toy truck. “You kept all the pieces?”
“Of course I did. I knew they were important to you,” she said. “I found a person who specializes in Kintsugi. She fixed the truck for you, mending the cracks with gold, making it more beautiful than before. I had it repaired years ago and held on to it in the hopes that maybe someday I could give it to you.”
