I winced. “No. I need to fly back to LA on Monday. But there’s no way I’ll be able to get home in time to pack and make the flight. Which means Monday is going to be the longest day ever.”
“Sorry, Sam, but all I’m hearing is that you have to go back to being a lawyer on Monday, just in LA, instead of New York. Why is this a Friday afternoon problem?” Connor asked as he swerved, cutting off at least the fourth car since we’d left.
“The point is I need to prepbeforeMonday, and I have to go into the office to do it. Sometimes your insensitivity to the demands of my job is really fucking annoying,” I whined. I emailed Patricia to please book a late flight on Monday. I’d leave from the office.
Three hours later, we pulled up to a rustic, two-story wood cabin Connor landed in a last-minute Airbnb deal. I silently wished I was there for the cozy fireplace and view of the snowy Catskills. Instead, I dropped my bag next to the stairs and settled into the oversized couch to work on another interview outline.
I didn’t move until Emilie came over a few hours later with a glass of red wine.
“Dinner’s ready, no thanks to you,” she said.
“Shit, I’m sorry. I’ll make breakfast tomorrow,” I promised as I closed my laptop and took a long sip.
I stopped in the half bath off the living room to freshen up before heading to the dining room. The table was set with champagne flutes, wine glasses, and a massive pine-cone centerpiece.
“Wow. Nice table, guys, but are we inviting the neighbors?” I asked, counting six place settings.
I heard a loudpopand turned to see Connor holding a magnum of Moët just as everyone shouted “Surprise!”
My brain couldn’t catch up. I looked around and saw Caroline standing next to Emilie, and I saw a third person behind a giant balloon that said “Thirty?!!”
“Happy thirtieth, Sam. You don’t look a day over twenty-one.” Charlie handed me the balloon as Emilie put a champagne glass in my other hand.
“Wait, what? Is this actually happening?”
No one had ever thrown me a surprise party, let alone a surprise weekend. I couldn’t stop laughing as Connor raised his glass.
“We knew you’d never agree to a birthday weekend, so we found the only people you’d actuallywantto celebrate with. So I guess in the end, this is more of a toast to everyone who made the cut. To us, guys.”
I went around the room clinking glasses.
“You’re all excellent liars,” I said.
I couldn’t believe Charlie was there. “Weren’t you still in Texas yesterday?”
Charlie raised his glass. “When there’s a will, there’s a way. Emilie emailed me a few weeks ago, and I knew I couldn’t miss it. You keep me sane and caffeinated, and there’s no one else I’d want to celebrate surrounded by strangers and snowdrifts.”
I was so happy to see him. In a short amount of time, he had become a dependable part of day-to-day life. He knew that I kept face wipes in my drawer, and I knew he stashed nicotine mints in his. We were eyewitnesses to the insanity of life as a first-year associate.
After rib eyes and mashed potatoes, we each carried a bottle of wine to the living room to play Cards Against Humanity. I’d never seen Emilie laugh so hard. Even though Caroline and Charlie were new to the group, it felt like we’d all been friends for decades. I felt happy, almost blissful. I’d never celebrated a birthday surrounded by a group of my closest friends.
By midnight, everyone had either lost or decided to call it except me and Charlie. Caroline, the most responsible of the crew, was the first to head to bed. Emilie followed suit, and soon no one could ignore Gillian’s exaggerated yawns, especially Connor.
“Finish it out?” Charlie asked as he refilled his wine glass.
“The game or the bottle?” I asked.
“There has to be a winner,” Charlie said competitively. “Officemate playoffs.”
“Okay, fine. If you think I’m heading into this decade a loser, you don’t really know me.”
I watched as Charlie shuffled the cards. He looked like he hadn’t shaved in a week, and I realized he probably hadn’t been back to his apartment in that long.
“Thanks for being here,” I said sincerely.
He kept shuffling. “Of course. It’s been weird living our separate lives recently. I have no idea what you’ve been up to. Good thing we have the whole weekend to catch up.”
I nodded and took another sip of wine, thinking about how I’d drunkenly ended up in bed with my ex-husband. A wave of embarrassment flushed through me. I was there with every one of my closest friends, but I hadn’t told any of them.
