A birthday wish

12.Jeffrey

(Just one arrangement; Natalie's brother is one year older than Natalie and not ten older. Thank you :))

"So, Jeffrey, how'd you meet my girl?" Mr. Brown asks Natalie while we are dining. She hesitates as she shows a sheepish smile. She looks me in the eye as if my eyes hold the answer to her father question.

"Why don't you tell us how'd you meet my mom, Dad? Your anniversary was yesterday, isn't that right?" I say as I chew a piece of Hum. Natalie smiles at me as she drinks a glass of water.

"Your mom and I were fans of The Beatles. One time, they had a concert here in Michigan. I went with a bunch of my college friends. And there, at the concert, I met your mom and she was my first college crush. I remember when she swayed to the melody of 'Let it be' and when she cried to 'Don't let me down'. I remember that I laughed when she emphasized the don't and almost bent over on the 'down'. That night, I couldn't take her off of my mind. The next morning, I figured out that we have a class in common. I was surprised. I've never noticed her before. After that night, she was all I see. We talked, we had long night conversations about The Beatles. I knew we were meant to be together. Shortly after, I proposed to her on The Beatles way and she could never say no."

"Wow. That's so cool." I say.

"I didn't know your mom was a fangirl like you." Natalie looks at her mom and Mrs. Brown smiled at the memory "I was so crazy about The Beatles back then. I was keen to go to their concerts and get their autographs. One day, I cried just because they said my name out loud. Those days were legit. I wish I could go back to when I was this little girl vibing out to The Beatles, wearing their t-shirts, and attending each of their concerts." Mrs. Brown doesn't stop smiling the whole chat about The Beatles. The more I look at her, the more I see the resemblance between her and Natalie.

"So, where were you last night?" She asks when silence starts to crawl in the room.

"We wanted someplace far from the media," I answer, hoping that she will believe me.

"You're right. Fans can be a pain in the ass sometimes." She nods and I agree. Mr. Brown snorts under his breath and says "You talking about yourself here, aren't you?"

"Jamie, stop making fun of the younger me." she laughs, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Sasha is getting married," Natalie announces, not taking her eyes off her plate.

"Oh, who's the lucky guy?" Mrs. Brown stops laughing and asks curiously.

"Someone she met on a blind date. They're having an engagement party tomorrow."

"Cool. So, you're going together?" I nod.

"Natalie, do you have something to wear for tomorrow?"

"I don't think so," I mumble.

"Great, we'll go shopping tomorrow and we'll fancy your date." Mrs. Brown stands up as she starts to clear the table. Natalie snorts at her mom's statement and springs to her feet.

"Natalie, show Jeffrey the guest room. He is probably tired from the trip. He needs rest."

I accompany Natalie to the guest room.

"Welcome," she says as she opens the door. The guest room has a specific vibe. It's like a Star Wars gallery room. Never have I seen such a perfect room for a Star Wars fan. It's as if you were one of the characters, in one of the galaxies, having your next adventure.

"This was my brother's room. He likes Star Wars so that explains the theme of the room. We didn't want to change it after he left." Natalie explains, still holding the rim of the door.

"Where did he go?" I say after I sit on the Yoda bed.

"He went to college in California. I think he lives there now."

"That's great. Why didn't you go with him to study in California? I think that chasing your dreams in California would be better than Michigan."

"He didn't go there because he wanted to. He was obliged to go." Natalie closes the door behind her and comes to sit next to me on the bed.

"Why?"

"My brother used to be a drug dealer when he was only sixteen. He hasn't told me what he was up to even if we were very close to each other. Drugs almost ruined his life and I wasn't aware of it. I could've saved him before he messes things up. The counselor of Zack's school called Dad one year later which means two months ago, and told him that his son sells Drugs on the school campus. My parents were shocked when they knew that their spoiled -supposedly responsible- son is a drug dealer. Shortly after, the counseling faculty decided that he should go to Juvie because of his delinquent acts. My parents and I went crazy after hearing the faculty decision. Our house went from calm and peaceful to hell. I don't know how they managed it but my father saved Zack from going to Juvie. We decided that he should leave town and start fresh. We were pretty close to my aunt who lives in California and since Zack gets on pretty well with her, we sent him there." Natalie doesn't stop staring at the ground the whole time. I see how much this topic is affecting her. Just by the look at her hands, I see that she doesn't stop twiddling her fingers. And by the look at her trembling legs, I see anxiety flooding through her blood.

"I was very angry at him for not telling me and I hate that he acted so selfish and forgot about the consequences he would leave behind. Since he left Michigan, I've been called 'The drug dealer's sister'. Everyone didn't want to encounter me and even if they did, they kept asking me about my brother. They even asked me once for Drugs. Rumors have been spread about my family. Lies have been told and toxicity has been in everyone's eyes."

"I'm sorry for your brother. I'm sorry you had to get through all this," I say as I extend my arm to her thigh in the hope to soothe her. She moves her eyes to meet mine and I can see tears wanting to flee. "You know, back at that time, you and the band were the only ones who could calm me down. Not even my supposedly nice boyfriend Jayden. When I put my earphones on and listened to ODIH songs, I managed to forget and go somewhere else far from the real world. Even when I miss my brother, I watch your videos and see your smile and laughter. I ask myself all the time; how can he be this happy? How can he smile all the time and be a daily inspiration for others?"

"Is that why you made the wish? Because you thought I was happy all the time?" I narrow my eyes toward her. Why does everyone think famous people are having a perfect life? I wish I could tell her that she's wrong.

Showing the media my happy face doesn't mean that I'm happy and have nothing to worry about.

Because I do, more than she thinks...

"Sort of. I know what you will say. I know I made a huge mistake for wishing to be you and I'm sorry that I ruined your life. I'm sorry that you have to wait for 365 days to go back to your normal life. This is all my fault and I-I shouldn't have done it." She winces and brings her hand up to brush off the tear that fled her eyes. I extend my hand to her face as I draw small circles with my thumb on her/my jawline. It's awkward for someone to touch his face as if it doesn't belong to him anymore. "It's weird to touch my face, you know," I say and she smiles.

"It's weird to see myself touching me," she says.

"It's weird to accompany your mom tomorrow to buy a dress."

"It's weird to sleep in my brother's room."

"It's weird to have this conversation with a fan I only knew two days ago."

"Maybe it's time to go to sleep because tomorrow is going to be a weirder day." 

Hello!! This is the chapter I promised to publish today. Not exactly promised but anyway. What do you think of Natalie's backstory? Do you think her brother history would give her any right to wish to be someone else? Do you think Jeffrey's life is not perfect or perfectly Perfect?