Saving Grace

I Would Need A Drinking Buddy

Chapter Twenty

Jay

I was not excited about today. I don't know why, but I just woke up in a sour mood. It could have been that I'm now a year older, but it was probably thanks to my conversation with Cali last night.

She would tell me when she had to? That made no sense. I don't know why she had to wait. I don't know what was so secretive and bad that she had to keep it from me. She also said I would hate her. I could never hate her. Now I was expecting her to say she murdered one of my family members or something. Crazy girl.

I got out of bed and lazily walked down the stairs. I was instantly hit with the smell of pancakes and bacon. My favorite. Grandpa and Preston were sitting at the table while Cali was standing with her back to me. I was afraid to say anything. I didn't know what kind of mood she would be in. I didn't know what to expect when it came to her.

"Happy birthday, son," my grandpa said. "Now you can legally get drunk," he continued, patting my back. I could tell that was a joke, but he said it pretty seriously. He gave me another pat on the back and a handshake. I looked over at Preston who didn't make eye contact. I looked at his face but I couldn't read it.

"Are you okay?" I asked, pulling out the chair across from him. He looked up and said "Yeah...uh...happy birthday." It sounded like he was trying to hold back laughter. What did he do?

Cali turned around and plopped three pancakes down on the plate in front of me. She had a weird smile on her face as she said "Yeah...happy birthday." Suddenly, her and Preston burst out into laughter. They laughed for about ten minutes, before finally settling down. Preston even wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. I looked over at grandpa who looked just as confused as me.

"What? What happened? What did you guys do?"

Cue another laughing fit. I rolled my eyes and waited for them to stop. But I did let myself listen to Cali's laugh. It was so good to hear her laughing again.

"Should we tell him?" Preston asked Cali. She looked over at me and grinned. "Um..yes!" I screamed.

She bit her bottom lip trying to hold in more laughter.

"Well, can you refer me to whoever did your manicure? They did a really good job," she said.

Manicure? As in painted nails? I shot my glance to my fingernails and sure enough, my nails were covered in a light blue paint. FML.

"And I love how your toes match. It's just perfect," Preston added.

They didn't. They wouldn't.

I looked down at my toes. And yes. They did match my fingers. I looked back and forth between the two idiots who stood before me and if looks could kill, they would both be lying dead on the ground.

"You two are so dead, it is not even funny!" I screamed as both of them sprinted out the door, still laughing. I heard laughing from behind me. I spun on my heels to see grandpa laughing to himself as he brought his plate over to the sink.

"Happy birthday son," he said again as he began walking away.

"I'm glad everyone finds this so funny," I said to myself. For the next ten minutes, I scrubbed my fingernails underneath the sink until my fingers turned red. This stuff was not coming off. I would ask Cali later, but right now I had to plan my revenge.

M phone rang and it said it was Finley. Why was he calling? I'm sure he didn't remember it was my birthday.

"Hey, happy birthday man," he said before I even said hello.