35. Happy Birthday, Amelia

Happy Birthday, Amelia

The next day Hadley wiggled into a pair of black high-waisted jean shorts and pulled on a shirt with thick red and white stripes and capped sleeves. The shirt was cropped to show off a sliver of midriff and was fitted to her small frame, a nice contrast to her wide legged shorts. She didn't have time to apply makeup or fix her hair, since she spent longer than she meant to on the phone with Dorothy that morning. Rushing, she threw her golden locks up into a simple ponytail held by a white scrunchie, grabbed Amelia's gift and the handwritten driving directions, and jogged down the stairs to her car.

Two wrong turns later, Hadley pulled up to a quaint single-story brick-front bungalow which was set back in a row of similar bungalows and cape cod homes. Hadley added her car to the row of vehicles parked along the road and checked her reflection in her rear-view mirror. She wasn't sure why but felt a sudden onslaught of nerves. What if Meghan was so busy occupying the other guests and the birthday girl that Hadley was left alone? As ridiculous as that sounded, it made her anxious. What if no one even acknowledged her. Get a grip. This party isn't even for you, it's for a little kid. She released a noisy exhale and wiped her hands down her face before getting out of her car. She grabbed the gift and made her way across the sidewalk and up three steps that led to a bright white front door.

Do I knock or walk in? Hadley stood in place unsure what to do, until the door swung open.

"Whoa! Sorry." A tall man with dark auburn hair blurted after narrowly avoiding her. "I clearly wasn't paying attention."

Hadley quickly stepped out of his way, but he didn't seem to move. She couldn't tell if she was staring at him or if he was staring at her. She jumped slightly when he cleared his throat. It was definitely me staring.

"Anyway, uh-"

Hadley tilted her head slightly, waiting for him to finish.

"I hope I didn't scare you any more than I just scared myself," he laughed. "Or, I mean, I hope I scared you less. Or, you know, not at all." She watched as he bounced on the balls of his feet and shook his head, producing a goofy grin.

"No, you didn't," she giggled. "I was actually just standing here wondering if I was supposed to knock or not. I'm glad you made the decision for me."

"Ahh, well, glad to be of service. My sister's in the living room with Meels." With that he scooted past her and down the sidewalk. He turned back and said, "Nice to meet you, by the way."

Hadley smiled and let out half a wave in his direction before she walked toward the middle of the house. He seemed nice. She followed the sound of laughter, until she walked into the living room, crowded with people and balloons.

"Hadley!"

"Hey Meghan! Thanks for inviting me," she said, as they wrapped their arms around each other.

"Of course. I'm so happy you came."

"Where should I set this?" Hadley lifted the gift bag into Meghan's line of sight.

"You're so kind! You didn't have to get her anything. Here let's put it on this table with the others then I'll introduce you to some people." Hadley nodded and followed Meghan's lead. They walked around the small house side-by-side as Meghan introduced her to her parents, her ex-husband Andrew, her older brother Liam, and her two closest friends, Helen and Cathleen. "My little brother is around here somewhere," Meghan said, looking around the room. Her eyes shifted to the bundle of energy bouncing her way. The young girl had wild light copper curls and wore a sparkly purple dress with a matching plastic tiara.

"You must be Amelia," Hadley smiled.

"Yeah! It's my birthday," the girl smiled while pushing her hair out of her face. "Are you my mommy's friend?"

"I am. Well, we work together. My name is Hadley. Happy birthday!"

"Thanks! Mommy, can we have cupcakes now? Pleeease?" Amelia folded her hands in the air and offered her mom her best doe-eyed look.

"I think we can arrange that. Why don't you have your friends head into the dining room and Miss Hadley, and I will corral the adults." Amelia skipped off toward her friends with a squeal.

Hadley let out a soft laugh, turning to Meghan. "Okay, I see what you mean about the endless energy."

"You're telling me! I'm sure the frosted cupcakes will tamper her down." Meghan chuckled and Hadley grimaced playfully. "Hey, can you let Helen and Cathleen know we're going to do the cupcakes now and I'll track down my brothers and Andrew?"

"Sure thing."

The Happy Birthday song for Amelia kicked off, and Hadley found herself looking around the room at the friendly faces, locking eyes briefly with the man she ran into at the door. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling at him and quickly diverted her attention back to Amelia. The palpable joy in the room caused a pang of grief to rip through Hadley. This was what she missed.

The room erupted with applause as Amelia blew out the number four polka dotted candle sitting on top of a chocolate fudge cupcake. Meghan carefully removed the candle and motioned for Amelia to dig in. Andrew walked around the table and placed a cupcake on each child's plate, pausing to kiss Amelia's temple when he passed her. He gave a friendly wink to Meghan before he announced there were bottles of wine open in the kitchen for the adults.

"Hadley, I found my other brother, Josh. Come, let me introduce you." Hadley walked toward her friend, happy to have avoided an invitation into the kitchen.

"Joshy, come here. This is my coworker, Hadley. I was introducing her to everyone earlier but then couldn't find you."

"I'm not twelve, Meg, you can stop calling me Joshy whenever you'd like."

"Big sister rules dictate that I cannot. Sorry, Joshy," Meghan laughed.

"Yeah, whatever," Josh smiled and turned his attention toward a wide-eyed Hadley. "Oh hey, you're the girl I almost took out earlier."

"What?" Meghan looked between Hadley and her brother.

"Yeah, that was me," Hadley blushed and waved him off. "He's being dramatic. He let me into your house when I first got here."

"More like I swung the door open and almost walked right into her. But, sure, I'll take the version where I have manners."

"Well, it's nice to meet you. Again."

"You too, Hadley. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to chase some sugar babies."

"Be easy on them, Joshy. I don't need chocolate throw up on the carpets."

"No promises!"

Meghan turned back to Hadley, still laughing at her brother. "He's the baby of the family, if you couldn't tell. But he is the absolute best uncle to Amelia. She is obsessed with him."

"That's so nice," Hadley smiled, letting her mind wander for a moment to what it must have been like to grow up with siblings.

"Well, with Josh occupying Meels and her friends, I think I'm safe to grab a glass of wine before I rejoin the girls. Do you want one?"

"I'm good, thanks."

"Okay, if you're sure. I'll meet you over by Helen and Cathleen in a minute. You'll love them."

"Sounds good! They seem really cool so far."

"The coolest! Right, Joshy?" Meghan pressed her foot against her brother, who was squatting next to Amelia, causing him to topple onto his side. A bunch of tiny laughs floated in the air. "Smooth move," Meghan cackled as she made her way to the kitchen.

Hadley walked over to the women standing by the back window. They both had full glasses of white wine in their hands and seemed to be gossiping in a way only old friends could. She approached them with a small smile and let them know Meghan would be joining them soon. "Oh, you wanna bet," Helen said with a wiggle of her thin eyebrows. She had leather black hair, cut neatly at her shoulders and wore a plain red t-shirt with faded straight leg jeans. Her lips were painted to match her top and left an imprint on her wine glass.

"Girl, stop," retorted Cathleen. Cathleen stood several inches taller than Helen and kept her long honey hair tucked behind her ears. She wore an oversized white Led Zeppelin t-shirt with electric blue bike shorts. She shifted to face Hadley before she continued. "Helen is convinced Meg and Andrew are still in love. She's just waiting for the day they realize it."

"Really?She never talks about him at work," Hadley considered.

"Ex-act-ly," said Cathleen. "That's because they're obviously not in love. Helen's just a hopeless romantic."

"Okay, then why are they standing so close to each other?" Helen nudged her head in the direction of the kitchen. The ladies shifted their focus in time to catch Meghan laughing a little too loudly with her hand resting on Andrew's arm. He looked at her with pure adoration.

"Hmm." Cathleen pursed her lips then took a long sip of wine.

"Like I said," Helen laughed. "Hey, Hadley, do you want a drink? I just realized you have empty hands!"

"No, I'm okay for now." Hadley said, dropping her gaze briefly to her white sneakers.

"If you say so," Helen smiled. The ladies gossiped for the next ten minutes, the topic of wine never coming back up. Hadley rolled her shoulders, releasing the tension, and immersed herself in the jokes and conversation.

When Meghan finally made her way back to the ladies, she was instantly met with three sets of suspicious eyes.

"Oh, let it rest, Helen! We just get along well."

"Mmm-hmm, says everyone who gets a divorce."

Hadley's hand covered her mouth, but a chuckle still slipped free.

"Oh no, not you, too!"

"No, no, if you say you're just friends, then I believe you. It's actually really nice for Amelia to see her parents are happy."

"Exactly.See, Helen?It's nice."

"I see what I see," she responded with a wink.

"Whatever you say," Meghan elbowed her friend. "How about we wrangle the kids so Amelia can open gifts before that sugar high causes a tantrum or a crash."

"On it!" the ladies declared.

Hadley settled onto the floor next to the couch, along with the other adults who didn't grab a couch spot or chair fast enough. Andrew handed out the birthday gifts, one at a time, to an overly enthusiastic Amelia. Hadley noticed he only took his eyes off his daughter long enough to watch his ex-wife react to the pure joy that radiated from their daughter with each gift she opened. Hadley sighed. The family dynamic, despite them being divorced, was something Hadley only experienced in her earliest years and many of those memories were now fuzzy.

Andrew handed his daughter the bright pink gift bag, which prompted Hadley to sit up a little straighter, nervous about her gift choice. Amelia tossed the tissue paper into the air and reached in to pull out the My Little Pony box. She shrieked and all but ripped the packaging in half.

"Did Meg give you insider info?"

Hadley turned her head in response to the playful whisper and noticed Josh was now sitting cross legged next to her. "No," she smiled. "I actually had no idea what to get but I spent a lot of time with horses when I was younger, and loved them, so I went with it."

"Meels loves My Little Pony."

"Really?" Hadley smiled. "Well that's good."

"Mhm," Josh smiled as he shifted slightly in his spot, ending up closer to her than he was a minute ago.

Hadley's eyes bounced down to the narrowed space between them, momentarily distracted. "Did you say something?" She kept her voice low so she wouldn't draw any attention, and after a quick glance around the room she was relieved to see all eyes were still on Amelia. All eyes except Josh's. His seemed to be focused on her. She wiped her fingers against the edges of her mouth in case maybe she had frosting on her face.

"Nope."

"Oh, okay, nevermind…" She focused forward to watch Amelia, as embarrassment crept up her neck.

"Was I staring?" Josh realized, his own eyes saucers.

Hadley shifted her look to the left. Yep. She nodded. "I thought you said something or that maybe I had something on my face," she laughed.

Josh turned his head back toward Amelia as he gulped down the rest of his wine. Glancing to his right, he mumbled, "I got distracted, I guess. Your eyes are pretty. They're, like, really blue. Like the ocean or something. I've never seen that bright of a shade in real life."

"Oh,"Hadley replied, her cheeks burning. "Um, thank you." Josh's smile widened as he nodded, holding her gaze for a moment before Amelia's high-pitched voice broke the connection.

"Thank you, Miss Hadley!" She ran over and wrapped her tiny arms around Hadley's neck. Hadley hugged her back and gave her a quick tickle as she said happy birthday.

The rest of the gifts were opened as Hadley actively worked to keep her folded knee from bumping into Josh's. Despite her efforts, her heart jumped each time his leg accidentally brushed hers, even more so when he leaned slightly, and she could smell his eucalyptus and mint body wash. She focused as hard as she could on Amelia, not wanting to offend Josh by moving away.

After the last gift, Josh offered her a hand up and once standing they nodded awkwardly and went their separate ways. Hadley toward Helen and Cathleen, and Josh toward the wine in the kitchen. Hadley stole a look toward the kitchen once, but when she realized Josh was already looking her way, she quickly turned around and focused on the neatly gardened backyard on the other side of the living room window.

She enjoyed the next two hours with her new acquaintances, laughing at jokes she only half understood, and listening to gossip about people she'd never met. She was happier in this moment than she'd been in a long time. When the room started to clear out, Cathleen extended an invite to Hadley to join them for a girl's night on Thursday. They were going to meet up at the Royal Oak Bar & Grille for happy hour.

"I'm not much for drinking, but thanks for thinking of me."

"Nonsense! There will be appetizers, too. It'll be fun to have a fourth wheel," Helen encouraged.

"Yeah! We promise we won't hold you hostage if you end up not having fun," Cathleen giggled.

"I'll think about it," she said nervously. "Anyway, I should probably get going." The ladies nodded then surprised Hadley by taking turns moving in to wrap her in a warm hug. Through a smile, she turned to Meghan. "I'll see you Tuesday?"

"Definitely. We can talk about Royal Oak, then," Meghan winked.

"You got it," she said with a wave. Hadley left the party, reeling with energy as she walked to her car. The whole drive home she debated whether she should go to the girl's night. It would be nice to make new friends. Any friends. But a bar sounded like the worst idea possible. She spent the last few years removing herself from those types of people. Namely, her father. Her mind then wandered back to how everyone was drinking at this birthday party and yet they all were incredibly kind. She continued this back and forth, debating where to let her mind settle.

By the time she got home, she decided she would try. It's just one night out with three girls, how bad could it be.