The List

Chapter Twelve

The next morning, I wake up to the beach house smelling like my childhood. I sit up and have to take a deeper breath to get the scent of syrup and freshly cooked bacon and put the picture of all those birthday breakfasts clearly in my mind.

I slip on a sweater and a pair of blue jeans shorts, and join everyone else in the kitchen. They turn and stare at me, smiling.

"Happy birthday, Cari!" They cheer.

Grace is holding a plate of pancakes, stacked so high it could come tumbling down at any moment. Liam is on front of the stove with bacon grease popping up at him, reminding him he needs to be cooking.

"Thanks guys!" I say, honestly trying not to cry.

Liam's always tried to make a birthday special for me, but there's something even more special about the group standing in front of me. Two have been around since birth, and the other two I've only known for a short period of time. You can't fake what we have; it's an unconditional love, bonded by the need to protect each other.

"You better sit down and eat, because we have a full day ahead of us." Grace says. "Rhett has the whole thing planned out."

"Oh yeah?" I say, glancing at him. "And what do we have going on, today?"

I ask him, knowing full and well he's not going to give me any information, no matter how much I beg.

He just shakes his head. "You'll never know, but be ready to go in an hour. We have reservations; the five of us do."

My curiosity peaks, but I leave it be knowing that I'll find out in a short period of time. An hour and an entirely too full stomach later, we pile in Grace's car as Rhett drives to the mysterious destination. Downtown Galveston is beautiful, though people from Texas will tell you there's noting special about it. The water isn't clear blue, trash is scattered along the water and street everywhere you look, and it's just another beach town. Me, being someone that lived nowhere near water for my whole life, I'm in love with what the ocean resembles. Vast and endless with so much left to discover, and we may never know the depths of these oceans in our lifetime. I'd love to live by the water and get to see tides rising and falling everyday, there's nothing more peaceful than that.

Forty five minutes later, we pull up to a ferry, which will take us to the next destination. The car is placed in park, and we all climb out to stand by the ledge. The sandy winds blows my hair away from my face, and once again I find myself believing this is what heaven looks like.

Rhett takes my hand, when Liam and Grace are busy taking a picture, and pulls me closer to the edge. "Look out there, to the left, and just wait."

I do as he says, and wait a moment before two dolphins jump out of the water, diving back deep into the ocean.

"Oh my god." I sigh. "That was so amazing."

"What if I told you, the next part of this trip was swimming with dolphins?"

I stare back at Rhett, my jaw dropped and eyes wide. "That's on my-"

"Your list." Rhett finishes for me.

I throw my arms around his neck, and jump off the ground. Liam, Grace, and Nathan notice my reaction.

"You told her?" Nathan asks.

Rhett just shrugs his shoulders. "It seemed like the right moment."

"How's this trip turning out so far?" Grace asks, grinning at me.

I sigh, happily. "It's been the best birthday I could ever ask for."

I notice a flat smile falter on Liam's face. Part of me feels guilty for saying it's been the best, when the last five years he's tried everything he could to make a birthday great for me. But, with Rhett having my list he knows what I want, and Liam's never had that kind of power. They've been memorable, and I know I've been loved, but until today i never forgot that my parents got divorced on this date.