One Wish Left

CHAPTER 16: BIRTHDAY

Jesse had been working as a longshoreman on Port Philip Bay for three months now, and it was grueling work. He didn't mind it; in fact, he relished the opportunity to throw himself mentally and physically into any activity that didn't have to do with monitoring his mother's mood swings. Yet he felt fortunate he'd built up enough stamina for such work with his countless hours spent in the ring over the years. Feeling the strain in his muscles as he lifted the last crate of the shift, Jesse was dead spent.

He got a call right as he was wrapping up the last of his duties. "Hello?" he answered.

"I'm the worst," Brodie jumped in, sounding distressed.

Jesse smiled. "All ears, mate."

"Laura's birthday is in two days, and I still haven't gotten her anything."

Jesse grabbed his sweater and beanie. While he usually worked up a fair sweat on the docks, he often got a chill by the time he walked home, especially with the onset of the rainy season.

"Haven't got any ideas then?" he asked.

"Obviously not," Brodie clipped out impatiently.

Jesse shook out his hair, donned his cap, and started the trek home. "Does Laura realize yet that I'm actually her boyfriend instead of you? I'm like the Wizard of fucking Oz over here."

"Suit yourself. You know whatever I buy will be bloody awful, and I'll tell her it was your idea," Brodie threatened.

Jesse laughed out loud. "Alright, alright. I'll help you. But you really are shit at this stuff."

Brodie sighed. "Please, Jesse. My problem is that nothing ever seems good enough for her."

Now that Jesse could understand. "Okay then.
You've already done the art thing with the museum, so what are some of her other favorite things?"

Brodie thought for a moment. "I dunno. She likes painting. She likes to read. Um... she likes flowers. And music."

Jesse shook his head in amusement. "Brodie, I already know all that. I need specifics. What colors does she like; what are her favorite genres and authors and singers? And, come on, man. You've been together for over a year and you still don't know her favorite flower?"

"She likes daisies, you arse," Brodie shot back.

The rain was pelting down on Jesse, and he almost slipped on a large, wet rock on the side of the road. "Okay. That's a start. What else do you know?"

"Her favorite color is yellow, and she likes this band called Dragons Fall. What else.... Oh! She likes Agatha Christie novels and... chocolate, of course. But there again, it seems too cheesy to buy her flowers and chocolates."

"If she likes them, she likes them. Stop overthinking this so much," Jesse advised. "Buy her a bouquet of yellow daisies and see if you can get tickets to a Dragons Fall concert. Or if she likes a good mystery, see if they have one of those murder mystery dinner places around there. People go crazy for that shit."

Brodie hummed in thought. "Yeah, okay," he breathed. "Thanks again, Jesse. Sorry I've been so intense about it. You know how important she is to me. I just don't want to let her down."

"You won't, Brodie. I think you just have to put yourself in her shoes. Doing something you know she'll enjoy shows you've been paying attention. She'll know she matters to you. She'll know you love her. Sometimes that means more than saying it out loud." Jesse's heart wrung out with those words. He cared so much for these two people, and he hoped Brodie at the very least could tell, even if Laura would never know.