Roman, I Love You

A Birthday Party

4

I did not eat very much that next week. Instead of lunch at work I opted to proofread and fact check. No one really noticed a difference. I have always been friendly, but never really a friend. The closest I got was a few of the girls in the office who invited each other to events and I was one of them. I never really did much, but if I wanted to go out and get drunk off my ass to forget everything one of them could always help me; it was never really an option that I considered, though, because there were only a few people in the world that I was comfortable with letting them see me like that and the girls were not on that list.

Every day was a reminder that my birthday was coming. Every day was a reminder that I was still alive. That I was prolonging the inevitable. Twenty-five. I had been on the Earth for twenty-five years doing nothing, but taking up and wasting space. My presence was no improvement to society or family. I was just painfully there, painfully average.

Avery had to persuade me to even do anything this year, resulting in our plans for the club. Thinking of the club only soured my mood, because Avery had taken it upon herself to invite the wonderful Roman. How could I face him ever again? After I made such a fool of myself and not to mention the effects he had on me.

"So, what are you wearing?" Avery asked as she flourished into my house.

I watched her walk into my bedroom as I carefully put away my bottle of whiskey. I followed her slowly into my room deciding to sit on my bed since she would just pick it out anyway. She was rambling on about her dance classes and about the possibility of her teaching a teenage class. She spoke of Nat and how well he was continuing to do. She spoke of Jamie and about the time they went to the store and picked up the Fairy Princess doll instead of the Lone Ranger one. She continued on about the similarities between her son and our brother.

When she did finally come out of my closet, she was toting a floral pair of shorts and a white shirt in one hand. In the other, was a white dress that was a flowy whimsical thing and the front ended just above my knees while the rest of it ended just at the knees topped off with a pink champagne colored sash.

"Which one?" She prompted.

I sat there acting as if I was actually deliberating. She knew what I was going to pick. The only reason I even had those shorts was because she had forced me to get them. She was always trying to get me in them and I always avoided them. Finally, I looked up and pointed to the dress. She sighed, knowing that she had lost again and trudged back into my closet to put the other outfit back. While she was in the closet, I got up and ambled to my tights drawer. After searching for a while I found some that fit the sash of the dress well enough. When Avery came back out I could feel a little bit of disappointment from her.

"You have a pair of those in every color don't you?"

"I guess." I said absentmindedly.

"I was thinking your black wedges for shoes." She continued.

"Mhm, sounds good." I agreed.

"Scarlett, sweetie, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I reassured her.

"You seem out of it, distracted. That's all."

"Oh you know just work, deadlines, and all that stuff."

She nodded understandingly, "Yeah Nat gets like that sometimes. Usually some good sex sorts it though."

I flinched, "Oh."

She laughed it off and walked into my kitchen, rifling through my refrigerator.

"Aren't you excited for Saturday?" She called as she began to rifle through the cabinets. "Where is your food woman!" She called as I entered into the kitchen after her.