The Guy Who Gave Up His Jersey (New Version)

|27|

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Juliana, Happy Birthday to you." I heard a group of people sing. I fluttered my eyes open and looked towards my door. My parents, Xavier, and Aunt Vivian were around my bed. My mom had a small chocolate cake in front of her, with a white candle burning bright. A small smile spread on my lips, today was my birthday and my party. I crawled over to them and blew out the candles.

My dad was the first person to wrap his arms around me and give me a tight hug. With a kiss on top of my head, he congratulated me on my day and hoped I would enjoy my party. My mom hugged me after him, she buried her face in my neck, sniffling a bit. She talked about how she could still remember me as a baby, I assured her I was still her small child. Xavier wrapped his arms around me giving me a tight hug. He didn't have any sweet words to say to me, all he whispered in my ear was "tonight we are getting lit." Once everyone left Aunt Vivian stayed behind. She closed the door and came over to me, wrapping her arms around me, she sighed heavily.

"We make it seem like you're going off to college and never coming back." She laughed. "It feels that way..." She confessed. "Your momma and I basically raised you until she found Roger. I still remember how you would run around in my apartment screaming Aunt Bibi, cause you couldn't pronounce Vivi for some reason, am I big girl like you? I wanna be like you one day."

Her eyes watered as she locked eyes with me. "When your mom got married a huge hole was carved in my heart. You were the only thing I looked forward to after a long day at the hospital." I never imagined how hard it was for her, once we left. I recall memories with her but my child self-was attached to almost everyone in my life. When we left and moved in with Roger I didn't miss her much. Most of the time she wasn't even there, but I remember when she would come home at night she'd sit with me in the living room watching television.

"I'm proud of the young women you are becoming, Juliana. Don't you ever forget I'm here for you too." She said with tears rolling down her eyes. I threw myself at her wrapping my arms tightly.

"I love you, Aunt Vivian," I whispered.

"I love you too." She sighed heavily. "Okay, no more tears." She laughed, wiping away the few drops rolling down her eyes. "Oh, Reynaldo is going to be here in twenty minutes so you might want to get ready."

It took me a moment to register what she had just said to me. She was almost out the door when I let out a small shriek. "You mean Reynaldo Withers? Like Reynaldo your best friend who moved to L.A. to become a famous make-up artist?"

She nodded. "That Reynaldo."

"How?" I managed to choke out.

"Let's just say you didn't just leave a hole in my heart when you were a baby, you left one in his. He canceled all his clients back in L.A. and flew back into the city to have you looking flawless." She winked.

I rushed over to her and threw my arms around her again. "Thank you so much, Aunt Vivian!" I cried.

"You deserve it, Juliana. It's your day, don't let no one ruin that, okay?"

"Okay."

"Alright, go jump in the shower and hurry up."

I took the quickest shower of my life. It was hard to get me excited for anything, to be honest, all this week I was dreading my party. I was afraid my parents were going to be arguing like crazy and things were going to go horribly wrong. Fortunately, life proved me wrong this time and my parents were on their best behavior. My dad was arriving home earlier than usual and he wasn't glued to his phone like always. Out of town relatives arrive at the city without trouble and my dress fits perfectly. Today was my birthday and my party, nothing could ruin that for me.