Page 67 of Choosing You

“My mom had hopes and dreams for me? Yeah, right. You’re thinking of someone else’s mom.”

“You don’t have to open it if you don’t want to.” He waits for me to respond but I don’t. “Just set it aside and if you decide that you never want to read it, that’s fine. It’s up to you.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“If you want to talk about it, call me. I’m always here for you.”

“I know. And I didn’t mean to yell at you. Thank you again for the gifts. And for remembering my birthday.”

“I’ll always remember. I wish I could be there with you to celebrate, but since I can’t, you go out and have some fun tonight, okay? Promise me.”

“I promise. Bye, Frank.”

We hang up and I stare at the letter still stuck in my hand. Why would my mother write me a letter? When was she even sober enough to write this? Unless she wasn’t drinking back then. I just assumed she was, but maybe she starting drinking later. The words she wrote on the outside don’t sound like her at all.My sweet daughter?She never called me sweet. And on the back she writes that she loves me? She never once said those words to me, at least not that I can remember. I get up and shove the letter in my desk drawer. I can’t deal with it right now. I’m not even sure I’ll read it.

There’s a couple short knocks on the door. “Jade? Are you in there?”

It’s Garret. I haven’t talked to him since our decision to attempt the friends’ arrangement again.

I open the door. “Hey, Garret. What do you need?”

“I was just coming down to say hi. Can I come in?”

“Um, yeah, I guess.” I wasn’t expecting company and I definitely wasn’t expecting Garret. We hadn’t yet discussed the terms of this new friendship, like rules about stopping by unexpectedly.

“What’s all this?” he asks, seeing the pile of stuff on my bed and the wrapping paper on the floor.

“It was for my birthday.”

“Your birthday? When was your birthday?”

“It’s today.” I go over and pick the wrapping paper off the floor.

Garret stands in front of me. “Today is your birthday? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Why would I tell you?” I go around him and toss the paper in the trash. “It’s just another day.”

He blocks me again as I try to walk past him. “It’s not just another day. It’s your freaking birthday! Are you going out with Harper later?”

“No. She has class. I didn’t tell her it’s my birthday.”

“Why didn’t you tell her?”

I sigh. “Because I don’t care that it’s my birthday. It doesn’t matter.”

“It matters to me. And we’re celebrating whether you like it or not.”

“Garret, I really don’t want to.” I take a seat at my desk and open my biology book. “I’m just going to do some homework and go to bed.”

He slams my book closed. “You arenotdoing homework on your birthday.” He yanks me up from the chair. “I’m getting you out of here. It’s only 6. We have all night. I’ll take you to dinner, a movie, whatever you want.” He pauses to think for a second. “I’ll take you for pancakes at Al’s. They serve them all day and we’ve missed all those Sundays. What do you think?”

“I think you’ve lost your mind. You’re way too excited about this.”

“Because it’s your birthday. It’s a celebration. And you’re not spending it in your room doing homework.”

I remember my promise to Frank. “Okay, I suppose I could go out for pancakes. But I’ll pay for myself. Frank gave me birthday money.”

“Al gives you a free meal on your birthday. You just have to show your driver’s license.”

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