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Her eyes were lit up. "Boy did I ever."
The rest of the evening flew by. We all hung out and played cards. Livvie, Rachel, and Jackie jumped around in the bounce house until they collapsed in utter exhaustion. Night came, and we sat huddled around the bonfire Marcus has started earlier. I dropped a kiss on her lips. "I’ll be right back."
I hurried inside and pulled the cake out of the fridge. Carefully, I stuck nineteen candles in it, and then grabbed the lighter. I reached the back deck, lit them all, and strode across the yard, the light from them flickering and guiding my path. At my approach, everyone started singing.
"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Livvie! Happy birthday to you!"
Tears shimmered in her eyes.
"Happy birthday, Livvie. I love you."
She mouthed ‘I love you’ to me and then leaned forward and blew out all of her candles. It took her two tries to get them all, but she finally did it. Cheers erupted from the gang. The five of us rose and headed back to the party tent to eat. Livvie stood next to me and leaned her head on my shoulder.
"Nowit’s been the best day ever," she whispered.
I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her close to my side. I vowed that by the end of every birthday party from now and until forever, she’d tell me that it was the best day ever.
Chapter 13
2009
Livvie
"I’m going to miss you,"Jackie hugged me at the doorway of my room in our two-bedroom condo. "You better call me when you guys land, so I know you made it safely. I’m going to be checking the news to make sure no planes have crashed.”
I rolled my eyes and went back to packing. "You’re being ridiculous. Flying is far safer than driving. There’s way more car accidents a day than there are plane crashes."
"You’re literally flying across the whole country. That doesn’t make you nervous?" She shuddered.
It did, especially since I’d never been on a plane before, but there was no way I was admitting it to Jackie. "It’ll be fine. It’s not like I’m going to be by myself."
She smiled. "How does it feel to be spending Christmas with your love muffin’s parents? That’s like serious."
It was crazy actually. Gareth and I had been together for over two years. His parents had finally fully embraced our relationship, but it had been a challenge to say the least. "It’s a little weird actually. I mean, they’re happy for us, but staying with them, in their house? It’s a little disconcerting. I have no idea what the sleeping arrangements are going to be. I definitely don’t know that I feel comfortable sleeping in the same room with Gareth under his parent’s roof."
"I’m surprised you haven’t moved in with him already. Not that I want you to leave, because I love having you as a housemate, but neither of us are really ever here anymore."
I plopped onto the corner of my bed. "We’ve talked about it, but I just don’t know if I’m ready. That probably sounds stupid. It’s just..." I trailed off.
"You’re just waiting for it to go to shit, because no one ever stuck around when you were a kid," Jackie finished for me.
"Yeah, pretty much. My life is going way too well."
"I can’t imagine how you’re feeling, but since I’m your best friend, I’m going to tell you to get your head out of your ass. You deserve all the great things that are happening. You have a sexy boyfriend whose parents like you and an even sexier best friend."
I choked out a laugh. Leave it to Jackie.
"You’re the almost social worker for God’s sake. You need to do something about that negative self-talk, girl. You are an amazing girlfriend and bestie. You like kids and animals. You’re way too cheerful, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There’s no reason why your life shouldn’t be going well. Trust me, you rock."
My eyes burned, and I jumped up to hug her. "What would I do without you? Thank you for being the best friend a girl could ask for."
"You’re welcome."
The knock on the door pulled us apart. "Oh, that’s Gareth. I need to finish packing quick."
"I’ll send him in. You two have fun, and have a Merry Christmas. I’ll see you when you get back."
She left, and I heard faint voices down the hall, until a minute later, there was a light knock on the doorframe. I ran over and threw my arms around my man. “Hey, baby. I’m almost ready, I swear."
