by JC Gatlin
“That’s no way to celebrate.”
They walked through the third floor hallway. Traffic noise from the street below echoed in the open stairwell. The baby still cried behind one closed door, and the television volume in another apartment seemed louder than before. Coming to 3-C, Susan took out her keys and inserted one into the deadbolt. She talked rather loudly – rather awkwardly – as she unlocked the door.
“Well, we’re home now and about to come through the front door!” She paused at the threshold. “So, I guess Abbie, you can sit in your room alone if that’s what you want to do when you walk inside the apartment!”
Susan pushed the door open as Clem raced out. The cat rubbed between Abbie’s ankles and meowed.
“What’s wrong, Clem?”Abbie said, picking him up. The cat meowed again and Abbie kissed its nose and put it on her shoulder. She stroked it as she stepped into the dark apartment. “Something spooked h—”
Abbie stopped mid-sentence as the apartment lights flipped on and several people sprang up from behind the sofa and chairs and popped out of the little kitchen.
“Happy Birthday!” they screamed in unison.
Abbie jumped backwards. Clem meowed and bolted from her shoulder. The cat scrambled across the living room, past the guests and disappeared into her bedroom, as Abbie gazed into the apartment. McKenzie Thomas hopped in the center of the living room, tossing confetti in the air. The twins were beside her, blowing party horns that unraveled with a loud squeak then raveled back-up. Leaning against an arm on the couch, Abbie’s landlord stood with his hands in his pockets. A woman Abbie didn’t fully recognize was on the other side. She thought it might be the lady who cleaned the apartment on Tuesday mornings. A banner hung along the wall, partially covering the TV set. There were several wrapped presents on the coffee table and a birthday cake with twenty-one candles. Abbie looked back at Susan.
“What can I say?” Susan said, pushing the door open a little wider. “Happy Twenty-First.”
* * * *
Sitting behind his steering wheel, he watched the apartment building. Abbie Reed and the tall roommate had parked and walked up to the third floor landing. He knew people were waiting inside their apartment. He knew they would be celebrating Abbie’s birthday. He even knew the guest list.
He pulled the notepad from a pocket beneath his tan trench coat. Licking his index finger, he turned the pages and scanned his annotations. He came to a list of names.
Abbie Reed
Susan Nichols
Lindsey and Lindsay Tatiana
McKenzie Thomas
Landlord
Cleaning Woman
He crossed through Abbie and Susan’s names.
Chapter 12
Five people stood in the living room amid the streamers and banners. Abbie wasn’t sure what to say.
“Susan said you’d be home by four and we’ve been waiting here for like an hour waiting.” McKenzie held a bottle of Pinot Grigio and motioned for them to come inside. She’d clearly dressed to the nines for the occasion, wearing a Periwing traditional red satin short sleeve Chinese Qipa. A pink ribbon weaved through her red hair, matching the plum blossom pattern on her dress. She popped the cork and raised the open bottle. “It’s your birthday and you’re legally able to drink. Now pick your poison.”
“Uh-um…” Abbie felt a little overwhelmed stepping into her apartment. She felt Susan’s hand on her shoulder, gently pushing her forward. Abbie looked over at McKenzie. “How ‘bout a glass of Minute Maid’s Old Fashioned Lemonade?”
“Lemonade?” Lindsey took the bottle from McKenzie. She poured a glass and handed it to her sister.
“You only turn twenty-one once.” Lindsay handed the glass to Abbie. “And we’re going to help you celebrate.”
Abbie took the wine glass and held it with both hands. She looked around. There were balloons and confetti. Several wrapped gift boxes set stacked on the coffee table. The unfamiliar lady stood in the corner by the television. She wore a silver party hat with fuzzy streamers poking out the pointed top.
“Is that our cleaning lady?” Abbie asked.
“I wasn’t sure who to invite.” Susan switched on her iPod and cranked up the music. The club beats of 50 Cent instantly pounded through the room and vibrated the walls. She approached their cleaning lady and the two danced, chanting, “It’s yo birthday! It’s yo birthday!” The twins leaped from the sofa and joined the dancing in the center of the room. Susan swung around, looked over at Abbie and pointed at the short man in the corner. She yelled to Abbie over the thumping music. “Mr. Sherman is here too.”
“Our landlord?”
The man waved but didn’t dance. McKenzie, covering her ears with her hands, marched across the living room. A slit in the red Chinese Qipa showed off an ample amount of her right leg as she walked to the iPod. She turned off the rap music. Susan and the cleaning lady booed.
A moment later, LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” blared through the speakers. The twins yelled, in unison, “That’s our song!” Together, they shook their bodies, shuffled their feet and danced with Mr. Sherman. He raised both arms and twirled the girls.
“It’s time to make a birthday wish.” McKenzie clapped her hands as she sashayed into the living room toward the coffee table. Like a center piece, a cake with thick pink icing had twenty-one candles adorning its top in all different directions. McKenzie looked around the table and in between the gifts. “Where’s the lighter? Do we have a match?”
Dancing around the sofa, Susan brushed past McKenzie and returned to Abbie’s side.
“McKenzie organized the whole thing,” Susan said, motioning as McKenzie found then struck a match.
“It’s strawberry.” McKenzie lit the candles and stepped back with her hands on her hips, as if admiring a great work of art. “Strawberry vanilla double layered delight, Abbie Reed’s favorite.”
“I like vanilla.” Abbie raised her voice the best she could over the loud music. Her back still pressed to the wall near the door.
“Well…” McKenzie looked back at Abbie, dipping an index finger across the icing and bringing it to her lips. “I like strawberry.”
As the group clapped, danced, and sang along to the music, Susan grabbed Abbie’s arm and tugged her away from the wall and into the center of the living room. They stopped in front of the coffee table. Abbie blew out the candles and made a wish. Susan cut large slices of cake for everyone, as McKenzie directed a priority order for opening the presents.
Abbie unwrapped the first gift, a silver picture frame from McKenzie. She opened the Sydney Sheldon novel Rage of Angels from the twins. Abbie had already read the book, twice, but of course she didn’t say that. She thanked them, then picked up a brown paper bag. She peeked inside. Scrunching her nose, she pulled out a tiara. It sparkled in the light.
“That’s from me,” Susan said, taking the tiara and placing it on top Abbie’s head. “It’s for later. You’ll see what I’m talking about.”
“Thanks. This will come in handy… never.” Abbie removed the tiara and held it in her hands. Lightweight and plastic, it had cheap diamonds glued along the curving bands and the title “B-DAY GIRL” spelled in sparkling letters across the crown. She dropped it back into the paper bag.
“Whoa! Back that truck up!” Susan raised her hands, nearly flinging cake onto the twins. “You have to wear that.”
Abbie shook her head. “Considering I’m neither the winner of a beauty pageant or a little girl dressed up as a Disney princess, I don’t think I do.”
Susan grabbed the bag and reached in for the tiara. Abbie was about to protest when the front door opened.
Every head turned. Abbie looked at the door and was surprised to see a familiar face.
Rocky Stern walked into the apartment, wearing tan cargo shorts and a blue golf shirt. McKenzie squealed and rushed to him. They hugged, kissed, then she turned off the music. She called for silence and dinged a wine glass with a fork.
“
Tonight, in honor of Abbie’s twenty first birthday, I have an exciting announcement to make,” she said. The room turned silent. Everyone stared at her. She held up her left hand to show off her engagement ring. “This is Rocky Stern and we are recently engaged!”
Mr. Sherman looked at the cleaning lady. The twins approached McKenzie and took her hand, admiring the sparkling bling. Susan pushed them away.
“No one cares about that,” she said. “Besides, this is Abbie’s party.”
“You’re right,” McKenzie said, wiping a tear from her eye. “And let me be the first to congratulate Abbie on her twenty-first birthday.” She raised her glass to make a toast. “Abbie, we’ve been friends since childhood. I remember our summers together, when I was visiting my grandparents and you were living with yours.”
“That’s a beautiful sentiment. A beautiful, beautiful sentiment,” Rocky said, nodding. He blew her a kiss.
“Thank you, my love.” McKenzie caught his kiss with her free hand, then turned back to Abbie. She sighed, loudly. “We’ve shared so much together in our lives and we have so much more ahead. That’s why my gift to you, on this special, once in a lifetime day, is attainable freedom.”
“Amen.” Rocky clapped his hands in support.
McKenzie shot him a quick smile and put a hand to her heart. She looked back at Abbie. “Just imagine having a productive and profitable business with Vitamin Ritamin providing you the kind of lifestyle that only the rich and famous enjoy.”
Rocky left McKenzie to step beside Abbie. His eyes looked intense through the smudged lenses of his glasses. “When all the pieces are in place, the life of a Vitamin Ritamin Warrior can be very fulfilling indeed,” he said. “That’s the dream every new distributor chases and it’s only attainable when there is a clear understanding of how to get there and you have the right people in front of you, leading the way and pushing you up.”
“It’s not just about the money.” McKenzie came up to Abbie’s right. “It’s the fulfillment of a lifestyle that makes being an independent distributor for Vitamin Ritamin the best business opportunity in the market today.” She touched Abbie’s shoulder, then turned to the crowded room. She lifted her voice as she spoke, as if addressing a large assembly of people. “And, in honor of Abbie’s twenty-first birthday, I want to make this opportunity available to everyone in the room for a limited time.”
Still holding the paper bag with the tiara, Susan walked to them and pulled McKenzie away from Abbie. McKenzie fell into the sofa, revealing even more leg in her Qipa. Rocky followed, and leaned against the sofa arm. He removed his glasses and cleaned the lenses with bottom edges of his bowling shirt. Susan addressed the crowd.
“Thanks, um…” Susan pointed toward Rocky. He lifted his head and returned his glasses to his nose. She snapped her fingers. “What was your name again?”
“That’s Rocky Stern, my betrothed.” McKenzie held up her hand, fingers extended, showing off her engagement ring. The twins squealed.
“Great. Now sit your ass down. It’s my turn.” Susan shifted the bag to her left hand and held up a glass of Pinot with her right. “When McKenzie came to me and suggested throwing a surprise birthday party for Abbie, I initially resisted the idea. I don’t like to be involved in anyone’s birthday party. Or wedding, for that matter. It’s like receiving a bill for something I don’t care about.”
The twins laughed as Susan chugged her drink. Next, Lindsey stood and faced the group. “Abbie,” she said. “You seem like a very nice roommate.”
Lindsay jumped to her feet, next to her sister. “What kind of toast is that? You’re supposed to call her a beautiful human being or something.”
Lindsey huffed. “I don’t know anything about her, other than she’s Susan’s roommate.”
The group clapped again as Susan poured herself another glass of wine. She gestured toward Mr. Sherman. “Do you have anything you want to say?”
He scratched his head, as if thinking about it a moment. “Abbie, you pay your rent on time and you haven’t punched holes in my walls. You’re good people in my book.”
“Thank you.” Abbie inclined her head in a small gesture of thanks as the cleaning lady waved her right arm.
“I got somethin’ to say.” She climbed on the sofa to look down at the group. Her shoes mashed into the cushion. “My name is Juanita Evita Florendes Aye Reano O’Brian and I been cleanin’ Miss Susan’s apartment for sixteen months. Now she has a roommate. And did I get a raise? No, I did n—”
Susan interrupted. “Thank you Juanita. We really—”
“I’m not done yet.” She pointed to McKenzie and Rocky sitting at her feet on the sofa. “They get to talk about this wedding nonsense and this vitamin whatsnot. I get to talk about my job.” She looked back at Abbie. “I don’t know who leaves hair in the drain, but you could weave a wig with it. How can someone so young lose so much hair? You’re gonna be bald by thirty.”
McKenzie reached for Juanita’s hand and gently tugged her, bringing her back to a sitting position. “Okay, thank you. Thank you. I think this concludes the toast portion for the evening.”
Susan scrunched the top of the brown paper bag with both hands. “You mean, it’s time?”
“Time for what?” Abbie glanced at the paper bag in Susan’s hands. Birthday or no birthday, she was not wearing that tiara. She folded her arms together and pressed her back to the wall. “This party is more than enough. I don’t really need anything else. I really wasn’t even expec—”
McKenzie screamed. “Well, Abbie my dear, dear friend. We have a surprise for you.”
Abbie’s back straightened as she grasped the silver unicorn pendant. If she could’ve climbed into the wall and disappeared, she would have. She just prayed McKenzie wasn’t about to bring out a male stripper. “You don’t mean?”
McKenzie pointed to the paper bag in McKenzie’s hands. “That’s exactly what I mean.”
Abbie gripped the unicorn tighter, pulled the necklace taut against the back of her neck. “I’m not wearing the tiara. This has been fun and all, but—”
“This isn’t about the tiara.” McKenzie’s eyes widened and she brought her hand to her mouth as if she’d just made a faux pas. “Oh I can’t spoil that part, but what I can tell you is this—we have devised a very exciting game.”
Susan laughed. She was clearly in on the joke. “Is it Pin the Tail on the Donkey?”
“No,” McKenzie answered.
Susan tried again. “Is is Twister?”
“No,” McKenzie answered. “In honor of Abbie’s twenty-first birthday, we’re playing a very special game called Twenty-One Dares.”
Chapter 13
Rocky. The twins. Mr. Sherman. Juanita Evita Florendes Aye Reano O’Brian. Everyone spoke all at once. “Is that like Truth or Dare?” “What’s Twenty-One Dares?” “I’ve heard of Twenty-One Pickup. Or is that Fifty-Two pickup.”
Susan hushed the group as McKenzie clinked a fork on the edge of her wine glass. “Before you got here, Abbie,” McKenzie said. “We had everyone write down a dare.”
“Oh, no.” Abbie shook her head. An unwelcome blush colored her cheeks. “I really would rather—”
McKenzie cut her off. “Abbie we’ve devised twenty-one dares for your twenty-first birthday and a surprise guest will be texting them one dare at a time. The surprise guest is waiting for you at the final destination.”
This piqued Abbie’s interest.
“A surprise guest? You don’t mean…” Abbie couldn’t imagine how they could’ve gotten him to Tampa. Still… it was possible, wasn’t it? Maybe? Just maybe. “You got Clinton Reed here, to Tampa.”
McKenzie laughed, followed by the twins. Mr. Sherman and Juanita followed, although Rocky looked puzzled as to why they were all laughing about that.
Susan raised the brown paper bag and shook the tiara hidden inside. It rattled softly in the bag. “It’s a bigger surprise than the tiara, but you’ll have to play the game to find out.”
> “It’s Clinton Reed, isn’t it?” Abbie leaned forward, away from the wall. She started to believe it could actually be possible. “Clinton Reed is the surprise guest.”
“Maybe.” McKenzie batted her eyes. “Maybe not. You’ll just have to wait to find out. But I can tell you this. Your surprise guest—him or her—was here earlier and left to an undisclosed location with the list of dares.”
“He or she will be texting all of us one dare at a time.” Susan set the bag on the table and picked up her cell phone. “I just hope my phone cooperates and receives the texts. I didn’t even want to be part of this lame party until McKenzie suggested the dares.”
McKenzie ignored her. “After you finish each dare, you have to text the surprise guest, mission accepted and completed. Do you understand?” McKenzie’s mouth turned into a thin lipped smile. Her eyebrows narrowed. Abbie nodded. McKenzie cheered and clapped, then brought out a smart phone encased in a bright pink case. She typed a text message and said, “I’m letting him–or her–know that we’re ready to play.”
“It’s Clinton Reed.” Abbie looked at Susan, who was focused on her own cell phone, head down. Abbie put a hand across Susan’s phone, covering the screen. “How on earth did you get him here?”
Before Susan could answer, several cell phones dinged at once. Mr. Sherman, Juanita Evita, and the twins pulled-out their phones. McKenzie and Rocky looked down that their phones. Then Abbie’s chirped with an incoming text. She grabbed it from her purse as Susan cursed beside her.
“Still no text messages.” Susan held her silent phone at arm’s length and shook it. “I think an app corrupted it or something. I’m gonna wipe it again and then reinstall everything, one at a time. I could just strangle someone.”
Abbie ignored Susan’s rant and looked down at her own phone. She didn’t recognize the phone number. She read the text message, then started typing a response when McKenzie stopped her. “What are you doing?”