Page 63 of Thorns and Ashes
I stare at my phone, chest heavy as I reflect on how nothing changes. He hasn’t heard from me in months, and yet he still doesn’t have the time to treat a conversation with me as anything more than a call he’s penciled into his schedule. He didn’t even ask me how I’m doing. He just assumes that I want things to go back to the way they were and that I don’t want to work. I have to admit, even I’m surprised to find that I’m finally happy with the routine of it all. I’m not rich by any means, but having everything I need because I worked hard and earned it? I’ve found a sense of pride in it, which I’ve never had before. Something he would have learned if he had asked, if either of them had asked.
Good Lord, I’ve been brainwashed by the small town charm fairy.
With a resigned huff, I set my phone down and sip my coffee.
“So, tomorrow is your birthday? Not today?” Levi asks with mock sincerity, his lips quirking up as he takes a seat on his side of the porch.
I let out a groan. It’s not that I’m not a fan of my birthday. It’s that I’ve never had a reasonto be. “Yeah,” I say, my head feeling heavy as I lean it back.
He chuckles. “You know it’s called ahappybirthday, right?”
“Oh, shut up.” I smirk behind my coffee mug.
“You and the girls celebrating tonight?”
I bite my lip, trying not to let him see me grimace. “Yup.”
His eyes narrow slightly, but he doesn’t comment.
My stomach flips a little for lying to him, but it’s not a complete and total lie. We do have plans tonight to hang out at Ainsley’s and possibly go catch a movie at the drive-in since Rory’s never been before, but they have no idea that tomorrow’s my birthday.
It’s never come up, and I haven’t felt the need to tell them. It seems kind of presumptuous to assume they’d care. I’m finally understanding what it’s like to have real friends, and I don’t want to mess that up by acting like my old self and making it all about me.
Again, what is happening to me?!
My thoughts drift to my last birthday. I rented a yacht off the side of some Turkish Island that I never learned to pronounce and was surrounded by a bunch of people whose names I hardly knew. They didn’t care that it was my birthday, only that they were partying it up on someone else’s dime. I thought my best friend, Vianna, was different, but even she showed her true colors eventually when she slept with Pierre. It’s funny how different things will be this year.
“I’d better get ready.” I stand up, giving Ellie’s head a pat before heading inside.
After arriving at the cafe, I go through the morning checklist and throw another batch of Ellie’s biscuits into the back oven. She enjoys them so much, I’ve started playing around with different flavors. Banana is still her favorite, but she doesn’t object to sweet potatoes either. I’ve managed to reshape them to look more presentable as well. Although I remember with a soft smile, she never seemed to care.
The familiar scent of brewing coffee curls through the air, dark, bitter, and warm, woven with the sweet brightness of fresh strawberry pastries that I arrange on display while the rich smell of butter and sugar lingers beneath it all. The cafe slowly wakes as the aromas settle into every corner. Ainsley arrives shortly after I flip over the open sign and saunters inside, wearing flowers in her long hair, complementing the colors of her flowy dress.
“Gosh,” she says as she grabs her apron from its hook. “You’ve really got the hang of this.” She looks around with a soft smile, pride shining in her eyes, and back at me. “I knew you’d get here.”
“You thought I was going to break the cappuccino machine,” I quip, sneaking one of our blueberry tarts.
“Oh, honey. I still think that.” She snatches my tart and tosses it in her mouth before walking away.
I’m left stunned, eyes wide and mouth gaping, staring after her. At least she’s honest. I take a few orders and serve some tables, the usual mix of tourists and regulars filtering through like every morning. Rory arrives just in time for the mid-morning rush, and the three of us bounce around like a well-practiced, choreographed dance.
“Your boyfriend just walked in,” Rory whispers with a smirk.
Confused, I follow her eyes to the door where Levi and Ellie are walking through, before quickly looking back to shoot her a glare. “He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Made ya’ look.” She shrugs.
“You’re a menace,” I grumble.
“To society and lonely besties everywhere,” she hums, swaying in place before she picks up a menu and skips to his table.
“I’m not lonely!” I call out loud enough for a few raised brows and heads to turn my way. Heat spreads across my cheeks, and one look at Rory and Levi confirms that they both heard me, too.
“Fantastic.”
While I’m packaging Ellie’s biscuits in the back room, Ainsley and Rory come barging in like two bulls in a china shop.
“You weren’t going to tell us tomorrow is your birthday?!” Ainsley shrieks.
