The Birthday Gift

The Set-Up

Pulling out of the small parking lot behind our building, I looked behind us in the rearview mirror and mentally shook my head. i couldn't help but let a small smile play across my lips as I thougt about where I was a year ago on my twenty-ninth birthday. I voiced the question to Kat, who was putting on the rest of her make-up in the little mirror on the passenger's visor. She giggled, and turned to me with mascara on one eye, and not on the other, a very interesting look.

"Well, you were Twenty-nine, not thirty, so that was a plus, you were still in the same job, but you're going to be buried under the studio so no suprise there, but you hadn't, you know, had the big win yet. So we were sharing that one bedroom over on Henderson Street with the potheads next door and the ceiling leaks. So yeah, a lot has changed. But you haven't let it change you, and that's why you're awesome." She finished this off with a determined head nod like she had proven her point, and I could do nothing but laugh. I loved her sometimes. 

"I wasn't fishing for a compliment, but I'll take it. Thank you very much." Turning on to Main Street, I looked at all the old dilapidated buildings just standing as reminders of thier glory days as mens clothing stores and jewelers. Before the land of strip malls and conglomerates. It broke my heart to see them. I don't know why, but I love old buildings. Always have. And I always wanted to do something to make them beautiful again. I never had hope before. But I do now. 

See, the whole "Big Win" thing is really this crazy thing that happened to me last year on a particularly bad day. So, okay, it all started when I woke up with the smell of pot wafting over me.....

"Dude, she's totally out.." 

"I know, I don't think we should wake her, but if we don't, and she finds out, she's gonna freak man....."

I wake up and realize that my room smells like 1967. Though my brain is not typically fast when first awakened, and the marijuana smoke building in my room is certainly no help, I am certain that I have woken up in a strange alternate universe because there is no way Kat would ever let beavis an butthead, or AKA Randy and Jay from next door, into our apartment. It's bad enough that we live in this horrible duplex with them, but now they are in my bedroom too?!?

"okay guys, why are you here, what do you want? and how do I get you to leave?" I ask, barely moving my head from its buried position under a pillow. 

"Holy shit man it lives!!!" Jay puts his hand over his heart because aparently he thought I was still in dreamland. I wish. 

I pull my head out from under my little cave and sit up, trying to keep myself as covered as possible. Not because I'm underdressed, because I actually have on long sock, flannel pj bottoms, a tank top, long john top, and sweater. Whoev er said Louisiana doesn't get cold in the winter is an idiot. It may not snow, but Twenty Degrees with 100% humidity and a heater that never works and crappy insulation makes for a very cold winter. So I kept myslef as covered as possible as I sat up and attempted to open my eyes enough to see tweedle dee and tweedle dum. 

"So what do you want guys?" I asked.

Randy was the first to speak up, after passing what looked like a huge cigarette to Jay. '"Okay, so, like there may be a problem with your car.'"

"What do you mean there may be a problem with my car? And would you guys please quit smoking that shit in here? I haven't smoked since college, and you're making it hard to breath. crack a door open or something.'" 

Jay got up to put out whatever they were smoking and open the door. When he did, the light coming in illuminated thier clothes. I could see the mud caked all over them now and cringed at what our floors and my chest that they were sitting on must look like.