Lonely People

Twenty-One

Brian never suspected a thing. As far as he was concerned, we had been in our beds all night. The lads were exhausted for their show the next day, but they still played remarkably.

That trip marked the beginning of what would later be called The British Invasion. The Beatles had broken ground in a country that was seemingly untouchable by British artists before them. Very few ever made it, but afterward, everything was different. The Beatles made history by appearing on a show three nights in a row.

Two months later, I was awoken one spring morning by Molly jumping on my bed and shouting, "Happy birthday, Melly!"

My eyes shot open as I sat straight up. She began to bounce up and down, laughing and carefully avoiding my legs. For a moment, I wasn't sure what was going on, then my senses clicked into place, "Bloody hell, Molly, you nearly gave me a heart attack."

"It's your birthday!"

She landed on her knees and lunged forward to tackle me. Molly had always thought birthdays were something important, something that should be celebrated every single year, no matter how old or young you are. I, on the other hand, thought they were just a reminder of each year passing in our gradual descent into death. Birthdays were nothing more than a reminder that you would never be a child again, and, one day, you and everyone you love would be dead. I wanted to ignore the day, but Molly always made sure I remembered it.

"I don't give a shit," I replied, "I hate birthdays, Molly."

She pulled away, much to my dismay, and grinned, "You can't hate birthdays, Melly, it's a celebration!"

"Of what? How I'm getting closer to death?"

"Bloody hell, Melly, can you think positive about it just this once?" Molly groaned, "You're twenty-one, it's a special birthday! Can't you be happy about it just this once?"

She batted her eyelashes at me. I gazed at her for a moment, goosebumps rising on my skin. Finally, I sighed, "Alright, if it'll make you happy."

"Brilliant! Come on, I made you breakfast."

She grabbed my hand and pulled me out of bed, not even stopping to let me change out of my pajamas. She pulled me into the kitchen where Janice was sitting at the island. Molly pushed me into the chair next to her.

"Happy birthday, Melly," Janice smiled.

I nodded, "Thank you, Jan, I'm glad someone here is calm about it."

I glared at Molly accusingly. In all honesty, I was annoyed at her extreme wake-up call and insistence to remember my birthday, but it made me happy all at the same time. She cared enough about me to celebrate something as monumental as a twenty-first birthday. Her hug still echoed on my skin, sending shivers down my spine.

"Bon appetite," Molly placed a plate of pancakes in front of us.

She sat down next to me with her own pancakes. I took a bite and smiled, "These are wonderful."

"Mum's recipe."

"They're even better than when she makes it."

Molly blushed. Janice glanced around my head to smile at her, "I agree, they're splendid."

"Thank you."

We ate in silence. Janice had made her hot cocoa as well. The breakfast was perfect, from my favorite pancakes all the way to my favorite drink. To make things even better, I was sitting between my favorite girls.

"We have presents," Molly dropped two gift-wrapped boxes where my plate once sat.

I jumped slightly. Janice chuckled but stopped when I glared at her. The boxes were both wrapped in silver gift wrap with a blue bow. Due to the perfect precision of the wrapping, I knew Janice had wrapped it. She was always a perfectionist when it came to how things looked. Molly, on the other hand, always managed to get herself tangled in the tape.