“You finally found out that he likes you.”
“How the hell did you know? You’ve only met him like what, twice?”
“That’s all the time I needed.” He waggles his brows and I hit him again, a smidge lighter this time. “Ow!”
“That didn’t hurt.”
“I find you abusing your poor brother.” Kelly melts through the crowd of well- wishers—my cousins are already doing shots in my honor across the way, and Joe Carlson from work chugs a huge beer next to them as they cheer—and glides beside me. She looks fabulous: thick pearl ropes dangle from her neck, and her dress must be Chanel; she would settle for no less. And while some people have taken their shoes off in the grass, Kelly floats above the ground on killer heels.
“Are those Manolos?”
“Of course.”
“And my brother deserves whatever he gets. He’s the favorite after all,” I say loud enough for my mom to hear. She turns and laughs, flipping a hand at me as though what I said was usually true, but not today. Joel does an awkward sideways shuffle away to join our cousins and leaves me with my boss.
Kelly would never stoop to hugging, so she presents her fingers for a firm handshake. I nearly scrape my palm on the enormous rock on her middle finger.
“The party is wonderful. Your parents did a lovely job.”
“Thank you. I’ve been dreading today, but it seems like everything is going smoothly.”
“Quite. I want to introduce you to someone. This person has been desperate to meet her editor.” A tall, slim woman drifts to her side, and I can’t place her from author photos we have at the office. This is the mysterious author, but who is she? Her hair is cut in a short, brunette bob, and she dresses stylishly in a quirky floral print maxi dress and metallic gladiator sandals.
“Thank you for coming to the party.”
“I had to meet you, and I wanted to do it in a more social setting. I don’t enjoy going to publishing offices. Too many odd people.”
“I agree. Sometimes I think Kelly and I are the only normal ones there.” I’m not sure what else to say. Her voice is smooth and low, like listening to a string quartet where the bass has center stage.
“My name is Pia Brown. I wrote—”
“Spade a Spade!” I yell and cover my mouth. Not too many people notice, but my mom looks over as if to chide me for being too loud. “I adored that book!”
“That’s what Kelly said. I was very impressed with how you edited the work. I especially liked what you did with the structure. I never would have thought of moving that scene to the beginning of the book.”
“You mean the one where she thinks she’s met the new love of her life?”
“Exactly. I’m not a very romantic person, so writing these kinds of books allows me to be freer with my thinking. I’m afraid I’m rather cynical when it comes to love.”
“Aren’t we all, after a certain age?” asks Kelly, sipping champagne. A server walks by with a try of champagne flutes, and I grab two.
“Thank you,” says Pia when I hand her a glass. “I’ve never been to this restaurant. It reminds me of the pubs I used to frequent in London.”
“You lived in London?” I yell again.
Pia, Kelly, and I talk for almost half an hour. She’s such an intriguing person. She invites me to visit Europe with her when she goes next year, and I tell her I couldn’t possibly intrude. She insists, and Kelly nods imperceptibly. She also tells me that she wishes me to be her exclusive editor, and I gladly accept. Apparently she has a bunch of novels squirreled away, waiting to be published, and she plans on writing more.
“Cassie has been promoted,” says Kelly, “so she’ll be totally available to you whenever you need her.”
“I won’t be that invasive. I try to write two books a year, and they’re not too much trouble. I’m no Dostyevsky.”
“Thank God,” says Kelly. “I can barely get through the Russians without dying of boredom.”
“It’s settled, then,” she says. “Pia Brown is sticking with Cassandra McTiernan.”
Unable to contain myself, I reach out and hug her, and unlike the smiling Kelly, Pia is only too glad to return the grasp.
The servers come out with platters of food: shepherd’s pie, curry sauce with thick-cut pub fries, and tons of other grand-smelling delicacies. They maneuver us to tables, so we can enjoy the meal. I sit by the girls, Kevin, and Justin who gratefully takes my hand again and swings it back and forth.
“How you doing?”
“Great! I met Pia Brown!”
“I know. I saw you get all fan girl on her.”
“Shut up, I couldn’t help it. She wants me to be her exclusive editor, and Kelly said yes!”
“That’s awesome!”
“I can’t believe you all kept this a secret for so long. Especially Keeley.” She blushes and puts her hair behind her ears. Paul and Brian are mingling with my brother and some other guys from work. They both appear happy and confident, something I’ve never seen in Brian at these functions. And Paul is deliriously handsome in gray linen pants and a white button-down shirt. He looks across his table at Keeley and grins. Keeley waves back and turns crimson. Kevin’s boyfriend is away on business, and while I’m disappointed that I didn’t meet him, Kevin came bearing a huge gift box from the two of them, so I don’t mind. He promises to introduce us soon and hints at double-dating strategies. When Justin catches on to the conversation, Kevin pipes down and shovels mashed potatoes into his mouth.
We talk and laugh through dinner. Lindsey regales us with her latest conquest, Alicia talks about the baby and how her arches are killing her, and Keeley boasts about work. Kevin and Justin are at ease with the girls, which is wonderful. I don’t say much, just watch them chat and laugh and clink glasses over numerous topics. Justin’s hand rarely leaves mine, and I find that I don’t mind the P.D.A. I guess I needed to find the right guy with the right hand.
After dinner, Dad stands up and taps his wine glass with his knife. Everyone stops talking and looks his way, prepared for a speech. My dad isn’t known for his oratory skills, so a few family members cringe and take long pulls from their drinks. I’m happy Dad is speaking. He tells the best elaborate stories. I don’t care what the rest of the family thinks.
“Speech!” yells Joel, and everyone chortles and applauds. Dad waves us down and puts on his reading glasses. He pulls a square of paper from his pocket and unfolds it.
“Good afternoon everyone. Welcome to my lovely daughter Cassie’s thirtieth birthday party.”
“She’s old!” shouts Joel again. Dad glares at him and makes the lock-and-key motion in front of his mouth. Joel imitates him and sits back in his chair with folded arms. My cousin pats Joel’s arm. What a comedian.
“If I might continue. Thank you. Being Cassie’s father, I’ve known her all her life. I remember the night she was born; it was raining so hard the sewer grates overflowed, and our neighbor’s car was carried away down the street. Obviously, there was a serious new presence in the world.” He shuffles his feet and puts the paper down. “I don’t need that anymore.
“She grew up like many little girls: wishing she was a boy so she didn’t have to wear dresses on Easter, learning to ride a bike and not hitting parked cars like her brother.” He stares down his glasses at Joel who shrugs. “And trying to cook with her mother, though never mastering many recipes.
“Cassie’s life has been full of ups and downs. We used to go fishing together, even in high school, and she told me about school troubles, boy worries (though there weren’t many of those thank goodness), and her future. You see, she wanted to be a writer but was concerned it wouldn’t make much money. She was right, but that shouldn’t have stopped her from writing. She found the best job in the world, working with authors and words. I know she’s loved each minute as an editor, and I was proud to hear she was recently promoted.” He pauses so the group can applaud, and I turn red. I had no idea he had such a speech prepared.
> “This year in particular has been trying for my girl.” Where is he going with this? “For those of you who don’t know, Cassie has been caught up in the most entertaining and educational dating experience anyone could have. With the aid of her friends,” he points to our table, and the girls and Kevin clap and nod, “she has weathered twelve months of obstacles and set-backs. She bravely took the challenge and ran with it, much to my pleasure.” He stops and rubs his eyes. “I have a confession to make, and no one except Cassie’s friends know about this little wrinkle in the plan. It was me who called Alicia, Cassie’s best friend, and convinced her to conceive a plot, a way for Cassie to meet someone.” He stops again, my mouth agape as I listen. What the hell is he saying?
Dad shifts his gaze to me and smiles.
“You don’t have to blame your friends any longer. It was me all along.”
I cannot believe what I’m hearing. My friends, family, and colleagues are gleaming with pleasure. Those who knew about the dating game nod and bow their heads, trying to wrap the information around their minds.
“I’m so proud that she didn’t quit. There are no words for how proud I am. I knew she could get through the whole mess, and she did. I hope her mind and heart are more open now, that she can leave behind whatever past disrupted her.” He’s talking about Pete, saying he knew how sad and heart broken I was. This revelation is astonishing. Even Justin looks perplexed. I glare at the girls, but they only flash conspiratorial grins. This is even bigger than keeping the author a secret.
“To her future, my daughter, my Cassie, let’s all raise a glass and toast. Happy birthday sweetheart.”
“Cheers!” everyone yells, and I can’t drown out the applause and merriment of the guests. My mouth still hangs open, and Dad strides toward me. He pulls up a chair as everyone else begins talking again. Our table is silent and listening. Justin leans forward and asks, “Is that why you asked me to pick her up today?”
“I had a little spy inform me that you two needed to make up before the party. I had no idea you’d come out a couple.” He slaps his knee, looking immensely pleased with himself.
“A little spy?” I glare around the table, but no one meets my eyes.
“It all turned out, honey,” says Dad. He puts a hand on my shoulder.
“You’re responsible for a year’s worth of torture and humiliation?”
“Don’t look at it like that. It was time for you to stop being depressed. You had your mother and I worried for too long. Your mother said it was giving her wrinkles.”
“I can’t believe this. Why would you do that?” I pull my shoulder away.
“You have to understand. After the Pete situation I didn’t hear one word from you for a month. You slept for days and wouldn’t eat. Even your brother couldn’t bring you out of your trance. When you started running and eating better, I knew something in you had clicked, but it wasn’t enough.”
“It was enough. I was doing fine.”
“No, you weren’t Cass,” says Justin. The girls nod.
“We had this conversation last year, babe,” says Lindsey. “You were pissed off then too.”
“I had every right to be! You messed with my life, made me think I could get fired or miss my promotion. Made me go on all those nonsensical dates. I have felt like the world’s biggest idiot for an entire year.” I won’t cry. I won’t cry. I cannot cry on my birthday. People will think I’m depressed about getting older.
After a moment Justin turns me to face him. I look into his eyes and see concern. He wants to help me, but I feel so betrayed. I expected this behavior from my friends but not my dad. He’s the one person I knew I could trust.
“Listen to me,” says Justin. “If you hadn’t gone through this whole process, we might never have gotten to this place. We might have missed our chance. I was too intimidated to ask you out, and you had a thick, protective bubble around you. This year was good for you.”
“You told me it was a mistake. That we were playing with men’s hearts.”
“I was jealous. Why should they get to date you when I’d been waiting for years to get up the balls to make a move? I couldn’t stand that you might end up with one of those assholes.”
“Some of them weren’t assholes.”
“That’s what I was worried about. Thank God Keeley snapped up Paul, because have you seen that guy?”
We all glance at the boys’ table and watch Paul reluctantly arm-wrestling one of my cousins. He defeats Robbie in about one second then looks sheepishly around, hoping no one is watching.
“He is so awesome,” sighs Keeley, and Lindsey smacks her.
“We’re talking about Cassie’s mental breakdown not your perfect lover!”
“So, what if it took a million guys to make you see me?” asks Justin, and he squeezes my hand.
He’s right. I never would have guessed that Justin liked me. We would have gone on our delusional, miserable ways, working with each other but never fully realizing what could be. If I hadn’t cast the other guys away and gave Paul up to Keeley, Justin might not have had his chance. I regret what happened between us in January, and Justin registers the hurt in my eyes.
“Forget about everything that came before, like your dad said. We’ve got all the time we need.”
“Plus, there’s a massive cake coming, and you wouldn’t want to cry on it and ruin the frosting,” says Lindsey.
I smile thinly at Justin and tighten my grip on his hand. I turn to Dad and take a long look. He seems apologetic but firm in his decision. He’s sorry that the past year was hard for me, and he wishes that it could have happened some other way, but he’s too happy with the outcome to be truly remorseful.
“Thank you, Dad.” We stand and hug, and our table claps, Lindsey giving a few fist pumps.
My cake is wheeled in for the grand finale. The girls did a fabulous job; layers of red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting, my favorite. On the top it reads: “Happy Birthday Cassie! May the Next Year Be Full of Surprises!” Like I really need more surprises. The thing is covered in candles. There is no way I’ll be able to blow them all out. I turn to the girls, Kevin, and Justin and summon them forward. Finally, obedient, they all gather around me.
“There are way more than thirty candles on this thing,” says Alicia, eyes wide.
“This blaze might set the whole damn restaurant on fire,” says Kevin.
“Just help me blow the stupid things out before they bring out the fire extinguisher.”
Everyone counts to three and the six of us lean over and blow as hard as we can. Even with the extra help, one candle remains stubbornly lit in the center. I pick it up and give it to Justin.
“Will you be my boyfriend?”
He touches my finger, leans in, and blows the flame away.
“Sure.” His blithe answer is all I need. No mushy shit for us!
“I knew she’d find someone eventually!” howls my mother who then bursts into tears. Gideon takes hold of her and grimaces. He mouths, “I’m sorry,” but I have to laugh.
Leave it to my mother to have the last word.
After
I know what you’re thinking: isn’t this chick’s story done yet? Isn’t it time for the celebratory girl power song to play over the credits? Almost. Just bear with me for a few more pages.
Tons of things happened after my birthday. June came, July came, and then August roared into view, and all my latent fears about starting a relationship with Justin disappeared with summer’s ebb. He’s so attentive but knows I need space. He doesn’t get angry when I need to be alone or with the girls, and when I ask him to come with us for the new Boys and Girls night, he happily accepts. After all, he has Brian and Paul to hang out with now. Sometimes Kevin infiltrates our get-togethers.
He is still hopelessly in love with King Philip of Portugal (which I totally call him to his face and which Kevin hates) and they live together in Minneapolis at Philip’s chic apartment. A more blissful couple I’ve never see
n, apart from Keeley and Paul, Alicia and Brian, and Justin and me.
Lindsey continues on her search for the perfect man, and she finds him quite often. But they never stay around long enough to bring to our festivities. She says that they’ll ruin her fun, and Lindsey appreciates her fun.
Alicia is not due for a while, but she’s showing big time. Her husband and kids have been great, supportive. This new baby has lit a fire under Brian’s ass. Either that, or Alicia finally took our advice and had the necessary conversation about sharing parental obligations. All I know is that he’s seeing less of the boys at the bar and more of his wife and children, and he couldn’t be happier. They’re waiting to find out the baby’s sex, but Alicia confided to me that Lindsey would be the godmother no matter what. That should be interesting.
Keeley and Paul are going strong and thinking of moving in together. Cohabitation is new for both of them, so I hope all goes well. She’s always sitting on his lap and saying really schmaltzy things to him, touching noses with him, and generally making a romantic ass of herself. He reciprocates fully, something I haven’t seen in a man in a long, long time. And I couldn’t be happier for them. They’re a good fit.
As for my family, Dad and Sandy are still together. We often go to brunch and I even went shopping with her a few times. She has good taste and I admire her affection for my father. She is truly genuine, and she wants to make my dad happy. I gave up my dream of Dad and Mom reuniting.
Dad’s blog is still online, and he writes it religiously. He hasn’t been fired, and when I asked about the escalating work references in the blog, he said that he knows way too many company secrets to get canned. After discovering he was the mastermind behind the date-a-thon, I don’t doubt that he’s kept his ears open a long time and gathered sufficient evidence to say whatever he wants about his job online. Props to Dad.
Mom and Gideon also moved in together, into a small house in Apple Valley. She’s sad that we don’t live as close but making the slog out to the ‘burbs isn’t so bad, except for the stoplights. Gideon plans on having Thanksgiving and Christmas at their place, and Dad agreed. He’s getting exhausted planning family events. I can’t wait for all of us to be in the same place for the holidays again. Come to think of it, my mom and dad did get back together in the end.
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