Ecie & Esme III: Forever and a Day

Five

'Is Verd okay?' Lauren asked quietly as she sat down at the dining table.

'We don't know,' Esme replied. 'He's been in there for a week.'

'Has he not gone to any of his classes?' Lauren asked.

'We don't know,' Ecie replied. 'I think he just needs some time to himself.'

'A week?' Lauren said. 'Isn't it his birthday tomorrow? We should do something for him to cheer him up.'

Esme and Ecie looked at each other then at Lauren. 'That's a good idea.'

'Yeah,' Lauren nodded. 'What do you think we should do?'

'We should throw him a surprise birthday party at Les Deux,' Ecie said getting up and reaching for the cordless phone. 'Do you think they'll be able to do a last minute reservation?'

'I hope so,' Esme said. 'Are you going to call them?'

Ecie nodded as she dialed for the front desk. 'Hello? Oh hi, could you give me the number for Les Deux on North Las Palmas Avenue, Hollywood?'

'Of course. Just give me a minute.'

Ecie waited to be patched through and Lauren went into her bag and took out a notepad and pen.

'Oh hi,' Ecie said once she had been put through. 'I was wondering if I could make a birthday reservation for tomorrow night.'

'That is fine. How many people?'

'Erm...five people,' Ecie replied. 'But I think others will come and join later.'

'Okay then. That's fine,' the person on the other end nodded, making the reservation. 'What time would you arrive?'

'About nine to nine thirty,' Ecie replied. 'It depends on what spaces you have and stuff.'

'Okay, well we can put you in at about nine thirty. Would you like us to prepare a cake or anything?'

'You can do that?' Ecie asked.

'Of course we can. We're good at the last minute celebrations.'

'That's so awesome,' Ecie smiled. 'Could we have the cake?'

'That will be no problem. What's the name?'

'Woodrow-Thurgood,' Ecie replied. 'Do you think you'd be able to make an extra special birthday menu?'

'If you give me your email address then I'll be able to email you our menu and you can give any suggestions. Just bear in mind that because this is really kind of last minute, we might not be able to get everything.'

'That's absolutely fine,' Ecie replied. She gave her email address then waited.

'Okay then. Tomorrow night at nine thirty for Woodrow-Thurgood, a party of five?'

'Yep,' Ecie nodded. 'That's great.'

'No problem. I'll email you in a couple of hours.'

'Thank you so much.'

'No problem, see you tomorrow night.'

'Bye,' Ecie hung up then jotted down some notes on Lauren's notepad. 'We've got ourselves a reservation.'

'That's great,' Esme said. 'What do we need to do now?'

'Well the guy said he would email me in a couple of hours with the menu's and stuff,' Ecie replied. 'So all we need to do is find some cute dresses for tomorrow night.'

'Do you think we'll be able to get some at the store?' Lauren asked.

'We should do,' Ecie replied. 'We'll have to see what they've got.'

'So are you guys going to go to work then?' Esme asked. 'I won't know what to do with Verd.'

'Just keep talking to him,' Ecie said. 'You could organize some stuff for his birthday tomorrow.'

Esme nodded. 'Okay. I'll see you guys later then.'

'Hey Verd,' Esme said poking her head around his bedroom door. 'How's it going?'

Verde sighed as Esme walked into the room and sat on his bed.

Esme looked at Verde and was surprised to see how calm and serene he looked.

'Are you okay?' she asked.

'I'm astonished by all this,' Verde said after a few moments. 'I feel completely numb, almost oblivious, to this whole thing.'

Esme looked at Verde confused.

'It's been a week and I haven't cried or anything,' he went on. 'I always thought I'd feel something when my family disowned me. But I haven't, I don't feel anything.'

'Do you want to talk about it?'

Verde shook his head. 'There's nothing to tell. You've known me all along. There's nothing new.'

Esme nodded. 'So you're okay?'

'No,' Verde replied. 'I'm not okay. I'm angry that they can't accept me, but I guess I don't need them anyway.'

Esme looked more confused.

'I can't explain it,' Verde almost laughed. 'It's the most ambiguous thing ever. I don't know.'

'Well we're always here whenever you want to talk,' Esme said smiling friendly at Verde. 'I'm sorry they did that to you. They have no idea what they've just said goodbye to.'

Verde smiled. 'Thanks for giving me my space,' he said. 'But I gained a whole new family.'

Esme grinned. 'So do you know what you're going to do about stuff?'

'Well I've got no health or medical insurance, the only money I've got is what I was given when I was eighteen. I'm guessing that I won't be receiving the rest when I'm twenty one,' Verde replied. 'I don't know how I'm going to pay for college; I need to get a job. But I'm finally free to be me.'

'Aren't mom and dad going to sort something out?'

'Oh yeah,' Verde nodded. 'They talked to the insurance company so they need to get my birth certificate and stuff. They said they'd take care of everything.'

'That's good, isn't it?' Esme said looking unsure.

'That's really great,' Verde said. 'I'm so grateful to how well Sofie and Jonathon have looked after me over the years. I'm really lucky to have them in my life.'

Esme nodded.

'It takes some getting used to,' Verde said. 'Everything has changed.'

'They've changed for the better,' Esme said taking hold of Verde's hand. 'If your family couldn't love you and support you unconditionally then they didn't deserve to have you in their lives. They have no idea what it is they've just shut out of their lives forever. I know it's going to be hard Verd, but we're here for you now. Your real, true family. We're never going anywhere.'

Verde smiled at Esme then hugged her tightly.