No More No More

Cupcakes, Dinner (and then Some), and... Dope Sickness?

I fold up the paper, placing it in the pocket of my jacket, and reach inside the box.  Although I'm smiling all watery like, inside is a vanilla cupcake with pink frosting and little music-note shaped sprinkles.  Because we have no candles, I reach for a cigarette and stick it in the cupcake.  Smiling at my genius thinking, I light the cigarette and join the boys in the living room.

        They get the idea and begin to sing.  But, instead of blowing out the cigarette like you would a candle, I smoked it.  Even though the note went unnamed, I knew who it was from.  I locked eyes with Steven for a split second, and gave him the best forgiving smile I could muster.  I was tired of the yelling, fighting, trying to be the better couple.  He replied by giving me a tight smile and a nod before going back to his doughnut.

        Other than the cupcake and apology, I spent the entire day with Joe.  And it was... Nice.  I felt like one of those rockstars' wives that wears pretty dresses (thanks to the pooled cash of Tom and Joey and the creative stylistics of Brad), eats fancy dinners at fancy, expensive places (thanks to Joe), and smokes fancy cigarettes (thanks to the paychecks of Aerosmith).  The list goes on... I was a little bewildered by the fact that I thought rockstars' wives, rather than rockstars' girlfriends.  I quickly pushed that thought into the back of my mind, though.

~My parents weren't poor, we didn't live in poverty, but we weren't rich either. The only times my parents went out to fancy dinners was once or twice a month for a date-night, and then their yearly honeymoons.  However, we never went out to expensive places as a family.  There was never a purpose to.  My birthdays were spent at home with friends, my dates consisted typically of bowling and/or Stake 'n Shake.  And if I was lucky there was a movie in there too.  Anyway, I wasn't used to fancy dinners.

--

My breath caught when I saw the restaurant.  We had driven for nearly an hour to get where he wanted to go.  Joe took my hand and led me into the restaurant.  It was a brick and wooden building, with a patio out back.  The patio was surrounded by a wrought-iron gate and was covered with stones of various size and color.  Over top was a terrace wrapped with big and round twinkling white lights.  In the middle of all the black cloth-covered circular tables was a circular bar, black and shiny.  At the bar were men in suits and women in dresses.  I felt very out of place with all these rich married couples out for an anniversary. The men with their short hair and the women with their fancy diamond rings.  For just a second, I was jealous of their lives.  Not necessarily of the short hair––that's not my thing––I mean, I love Joe's hair.  It was their lifestyles.  My mom was married at nineteen; my dad was twenty-two.  Do I even want to be married?  I dunno... Marriage seems kind of... Weird.  Why am I thinking about this?  I don't plan on being married anytime soon.  Can't I just enjoy my birthday?

        Joe actually dressed up for the occasion.  His black leather pants were newer, and the black button-down shirt was clean (though only buttoned halfway), and his black snakeskin boots weren't scuffed up.  The dress that Joey, Tom and Brad got me was beautiful: a light pink that was all flowy.  It had no sleeves, and fanned out at my knees.  They said it fit me very well, even so, I wore my jean-jacket with it.

        We sat down at a rather secluded table.  Joe held my hand across the table, the light from the small candle shining in his dark eyes.  The place was called Aliment Parfait, and if my high-school foreign language education is correct, it should be French for something like... Perfect Food or something.  Despite the cheesy name, it was all very romantic.  Price also doesn't seem to be a matter tonight, seeing as Joe orders the best wine they have.  Seriously.  Wine?  I don't think I've ever even had wine–– Oh, that one time at Janet's... I went over there after Joe showed me Karen and Billy.  This was the following day, after I cried on Joe all night.