Kids from my preschool class are screaming and running around Katherine's yard. They were shocked to see their teacher in the real world but quickly got over it when they saw the bouncy house in the yard. She decided to opt for the less controversial bouncy house instead of the pinata.
Sunny has yet to show up, and I can't help but notice how he's late to his own son's birthday party. I'm talking to a group of women from Katherine's job that is much more put together than I am. I smoothen my knitted dress and take another sip of my wine while listening to the conversation on the stock market- something I know nothing about.
Then, he arrives.
Sunny stumbles into the backyard. He's wearing dark sunglasses and a wrinkled plaid shirt. His hair isn't as neatly done as it usually is, and I know something's up. I excuse myself from the conversation before jogging up to him. I watch him grab some plastic party decor off the table before flinging them into the trees.
"Sunny?"
When I have his attention, he groans to turn around. I catch a whiff of the alcohol on him, and now, I'm more than a little disappointed. Katherine runs up to us and grabs the wine out of my hand. She asks me to take him inside to a spare room. I pull him through the sparse crowd. A few adults are giving us strange looks, but the kids seem fine. Luckily, Arav hasn't seen his father yet.
I seat him on a bed in the guest room and pull off his jacket. It's stained from whatever he was just drinking. "Ooh, Jaanu. I like your initiative," he tries to flirt.
In any other circumstance, I would laugh, but I'm so angry. "Why are you drunk, Sun?"
"You know I used to own this house. This fucking palace used to be mine," he gestures towards the room. Of course, I knew this, but the rage seeping through his voice shocks me.
"I'm just so fucking tired of that bitch ruining everything for me," he continues.
"She didn't ruin everything," I reason.
He shakes his head, and I stop talking immediately. I want to know his side, "She did! She ruined us and our family. She took everything too. She took the house. She took most of our friends, and now, she's trying to take you too. Her and fucking Brandon"
"She's not going to take me," I try and butt in, but he doesn't let me.
"And now, two years later, she's so fucking happy, and I'm stuck. She fucked my friend, and I'm the one that has nothing." My heart darkens at these words. Yes, Katherine is so happy with her new husband, but I thought he was happy too.
"Right... nothing," I say. I've now put together the story of Katherine, Brandon, and Sunny. I'm disappointed but not surprised. If anything, I'm hurt that Sunny thinks what we have is nothing.
He looks at me with sad eyes. The same eyes I've described countless times with love have a glaze that clouds their love with anger and resentment. "I don't mean it like that, Jaanu. Fuck. She's doing it again!"
I move my hands out of his grasp and move to leave the room, "She's not doing anything. You are." I look back at him and his head is in his arms. I shut the door behind me and run into Arav and Katherine on my way out.
I quickly wipe the tears from my cheeks before smiling down at Arav. "Happy birthday, buddy!"
He jumps into my arms for a hug, "Thank you, Jaanie!"
I smile at Katherine, and she gives me a concerned look. "Is he okay?" she mouths.
I nod. I can't help but look at her in a different light now that I know the whole story. She admitted to cheating, but I didn't realize how bad it had really been.
"I'm gonna go," I say before heading out in a bit of a daze. I don't want to remember today- it'll ruin the year of good memories we built together, but I can't shake Sunny's words from my mind.