Back to Where We Started From (Miracle)

Chapter Ninety-Six

"Happy birthday!"

Julia rolled over in bed, her face scrunched up in disdain for the morning. She slowly opened her eyes to see her aunt holding a homemade cupcake with a single candle burning in the middle. She sat up sluggishly, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Thanks, Aunt Patti," she smiled, taking the cupcake. She thought for a moment, before blowing out the candle. Patti sat on her bed, moving a piece of Julia's messy hair out of her face.

"Gosh, I can't believe you're twenty-two already," she smiled softly. "You're so grown up. It seems like just yesterday I was dressing you up in a big poofy dress to be the flower girl at our wedding."

Julia laughed, vaguely remembering their wedding, which happened when she was seven.

"You know, when I think of how much you've matured since August I could just burst with pride. I mean really, Julia, it's just been incredible," Patti said, looking at her niece happily. Patti handed her a construction paper card. "Danny and Kelly just left for school, but they wanted me to give you this. They said they can't wait to see you in Lake Placid."

"That's so sweet of them," she smiled, looking at the card her cousins had made for her.

"Are you excited?" Patti asked with bright eyes.

"So excited, Aunt Patti. I can't wait to see everybody," Julia nearly giggled. The thought of finally seeing her bandmates after six months nearly had her buzzing.

"I'm sure they've missed you. Is Jack ready to meet everyone?"

"He would be if everyone stopped scaring him," she scoffed. "I know they can be a little protective, but as soon as they see how happy Jack makes me, they're gonna love him. I'm not worried about it."

"Well, good," Patti said, patting Julia's knee. "Herb says you're leaving in an hour. I'll let you get ready."

Julia nodded, stretching in her bed as her aunt left her room. She would be leaving the house for the foreseeable future—hopefully for real this time. She hadn't unpacked much since she had packed for Christmas, so she didn't have much to do. She was, however, very worried about her wardrobe for New York. She knew what she would wear to dinner that night, but she was hoping she could sneak away the next morning for a shopping spree for the party.

She got out of bed, quickly scarfing down her cupcake before she got ready for the day. She wore a patchwork skirt with a matching sweater, paired with brown boots and her favorite white fur coat. She spent extra time on her hair and makeup, wearing more eye makeup than she had in several weeks. She had an underlying feeling that returning to Manhattan and reuniting with the band would make her feel more like her former self, and she thought dressing the part couldn't hurt. She gathered her stuff up and walked into the kitchen, going straight to the coffee pot.

"Happy birthday," Herb said from the kitchen table, polishing off his own cup of coffee. Julia refilled his mug and filled her own.

"Thank you," she grinned, sitting down beside him as Patti entered the kitchen.

"Are you two ready for your big weekend?" Patti questioned. "Are you both all packed?"

"Yes and yes," Julia nodded, taking a sip of her black coffee.

"It'll be interesting," Herb said, looking lost in thought. A moment later he looked up at Julia solemnly. "I have something for you."

"A gift? We said no gifts," Julia reminded him with a frown. The Brooks family wasn't big on birthday gifts unless it was a significant birthday, and Julia couldn't see why her twenty-second birthday could be significant.