“Is tough,” I agreed.
“Give Birdy a hug and tell her we love her. We love you as well.”
“Thanks, Lynne. That means a lot. Love you too.”
We said goodbye and hung up, but the phone rang again almost immediately.
“Hello?”
“Happy birthday, dear.”
“Anne! Hi. Thank you very much.”
“You’re welcome. Do you have big plans for the day?”
“Not really. Lots of phone calls,” I laughed.
We made small talk for a couple of minutes and then she wrapped up.
“We’ll see you tomorrow, dear. We’re so proud of you and Christine. Love to you both.”
I’d barely set the receiver on the cradle when it rang again. I answered.
“Happy birthday,” Marianne said. “You’re a popular man. At least I know I got the time right.”
I glanced at my watch. “What about it?”
“Birdy wanted us to call at the same time.”
“Oh, she did, did she?” I shot a look at Birdy herself, who blinked innocently.
“Mmm hmm,” Marianne said. “I’ve been trying for ten minutes, but the line was busy. I have you now, though! Oh, dear, listen to me,” she added with a laugh. “I sound like Snidely Whiplash. I need to talk to adults more. Anyway, happy birthday. And welcome to the family!”
“Thanks. I think.”
“On that note, we’re sorry we can’t make it for Birdy’s graduation.”
“She told me. Don’t worry about it,” I said. “It’s a long way, especially with four kids. And pregnant!”
“Only four months, but you’re right. Besides, we’ll see you out here in a couple of weeks.”
We talked for a few more minutes and then said goodbye.
“So,” I accused Christy, “you told your entire family to call me?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she lied.
The phone rang.
“Uh-huh,” I said.
It rang again.
“Are you going to answer it?” she prompted.
“Hello?”
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday too you…! I’ll stop now. I couldn’t sing if they paid me. And believe me, they’ve tried. Ha! It’s Sabrina, in case you were wondering.”
“I wasn’t,” I lied. “I recognized your beautiful singing voice.”
“Off-key,” she scoffed. “Danny makes fun of me. He says I’m as bad as his brother.”
“It’s the thought that counts.”
Someone called her name in the background.
“Oh, darn, I have to go. Sorry. I thought I had more time, but they need me in wardrobe. We’ll be finished here tomorrow and then I’m flying to Knoxville. Love and kisses. See you soon!”
I replaced the phone in its cradle. I started to thank Christy, but her frown stopped me.
“What?” I said instead.
The phone rang again, and she smiled smugly.
“Answer it.”
I lifted the handset. “Hello?”
“Happy birthday, kid.”
I blinked in shock. “Rich?”
“No, the Tooth Fairy. Who’d you think it was? Of course it’s me. Birdy said to call, so I called.”
“Do you always do what she says?”
“If I know what’s good for me.” He chuckled darkly. “Besides, Mom mentioned it, too.”
“And you always do what she says.”
“You’re learning,” he said. “Anyway, happy birthday.” He sounded like he meant it.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. And tell Birdy I’ll be able to come tomorrow after all.”
My eyebrows flew up. “You’re coming? Here?”
“She’s my baby sister. Besides, someone has to keep an eye on you.”
“Great,” I fibbed. “I can’t wait to see you.”
He chuckled again, even darker than before. “A healthy sense of danger. That’s a good sign. It’s a survival trait. You’re starting to grow on me, kid.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“Mmm. Well, enough chitchat. I have work to do. See you tomorrow.”
We said goodbye and hung up.
Christy bounced to her feet. “Rich is coming? For real?”
“That’s what he said.”
“Oh my gosh, that’s wonderful! He really likes you, you know.”
“Coulda fooled me.”
“He does,” she insisted. “He just… doesn’t know how to show it.” She slipped her arms around me and hugged me tight. “Oh, Paul, I love you so much right now.”
“I love you too.”
“And my family loves you… but not as much as I do.”
My eyebrows rose at the suggestion in her voice.
“Is there anything special you’d like for your birthday? Before tonight?” She glanced toward the bedroom door. “Wren and Trip are running errands…”
“You read my mind. Get on your knees.”
“Mmm, you read my mind.”
* * *
The doorbell rang several hours later, but it was too early for the party. I glanced at Christy, who was curled up in her favorite chair in my studio. She was dozing peacefully, and late afternoon sunlight slanted across her sketchpad. She’d been drawing vignettes of me from a few hours earlier, when I’d been dozing myself.
I headed downstairs and passed Trip and Wren’s closed bedroom door. They were showering after their own “nap.” Wren was finally starting to look and act normal again, although it would be a while before she recovered completely.
I reached the first floor landing as the doorbell rang again. Annoyed footsteps sounded from above, so I called up, “I got it!”
I opened the front door.
“Hey, there he is!” A guy with a buzz cut and tattoos held a half-dozen pizza boxes, but he didn’t look like a delivery guy. He wore a Bad Religion T-shirt, a studded belt, and ripped jeans. He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place him. “The birthday boy,” he added.
“What? How’d—?” I looked at his face. “Dex? Hey! Sorry, I didn’t recognize you without the spiky hair.”
“Yeah, I shaved it off. LA instead of London,” he added. I clearly didn’t understand, so he gestured with the pizza boxes. “Sorry we didn’t call. Nik wanted it to be a surprise.”
“It’s a surprise, all right. C’mon in,” I said. “Is she with you?”
“She’s in the car. We didn’t want to invade if… you know.”
“Nonsense. We can’t eat that many pizzas. Put ’em on the dining room table.” I pointed, let him pass, and stepped onto the front porch. I motioned to Nikki, who climbed out of the car.
“Are you sure it’s okay?” she called. “I know we’re early.”
“You’re on time if you show up with pizza.”
She laughed, and Dex slid past me from behind.
“We brought brewskis, too. We were kinda hoping… you know. Sorry if we took your hospitality for granted.”
“You heard what I said about pizza?” I fell in beside him. “That goes double if you bring beer.” I held out my hand when we reached his car. “We haven’t been formally introduced. I’m Paul.”
“Dexter,” he said as he shook it. “Dex to my friends.”
He’d brought a couple of six-packs of beer, in longneck bottles instead of cans. Nikki joined us as we walked inside.
“You’re sure you don’t mind?” she said.
“Not at all. Trip and Wren are still getting ready, and Christy’s napping upstairs, but she needs to wake up anyway.”
Trip was waiting for us in the foyer. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and looked like he’d been sent to find out what was going on.
“What’s going on?”
I chuckled.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing, sorry.” I gestured toward the dining room. “Dex and Nikki brought pizza.”
Trip’s attitude changed abruptly. “Oh?”
“Yeah. A surprise birthday present.” I introduced him to Nikki.
“We met at the gala,” he said. “Remember?”
“Oh, yeah! Sorry. This is Dex, her boyfriend.”
“Friend-friend,” Dex corrected. He shook Trip’s hand and they exchanged greetings.
“All right,” Trip said, “I’m gonna finish getting dressed. I’ll tell Wren about the pizza.”