And laugh.
And laugh.
Asher’s face may crack from smiling the way he is.
Breathlessly, I say, “Best. Birthday. Ever.”
“Better than ceiling stars?”
I nod.
Asher points toward a red balloon floating up behind one of the statues. “That’syour actual present.”
I take a step toward it. “Edith?”
Asher picks up the elephant and holds it between us. Up close, I can see that it’s a slightly different color than Edith; darker and more vibrant. “That’s actually Edith’s baby cousin, Ellen.” He smiles.
I look around at all of the strange creatures, each one perfectly placed, some of them obviously too large for one person to move. “This is… too much.”
Asher shrugs. “It’s not a big deal.”
But that’s exactly what this feels like. And I’m not sure if that should thrill me or terrify me, but it does both. And I wasn’t lying when I said this is the best birthday ever.
DAY 32
Sidney
The brochure said this leg of the river takes two hours to float down, but I didn’t think about how long that would actually feel like when Asher and I are just staring at each other. I thought it would be hilarious to watch Asher float down the river on this stupid raft I picked out—a giant rainbow-colored unicorn swan. I’ve never been on one of these floating river trips before, and it seemed like it would be something fun and different, not like sitting in a boring restaurant. But I didn’t think about what we’d actually do while we were floating along on this cupcake of a raft. Because all we can really do is talk. Talk and float, and float and talk. Think about kissing.Notkiss, because thereareother people living their lives out on this river, in canoes and kayaks.
“So tell me about Taylor and David and Evan…”
We’re lying on our backs, arms propped behind us, legs hanging in the water. I wore my two-piece, but I wish I was in one of my Speedos, because honestly, I’m half-tempted to get off of this thing and swim. Especially if Asher wants to spend our time talking about exes.
I fix Asher with a stare that saysI don’t think so.“Tell me about Jordan.”
“What do you want to know?” Asher says, his face smug.
I smile. “Why did you break up?”
“Reasons.”
“Are you still friends?”
Asher shrugs. “We don’t hang out or anything, but yeah, I guess.”
It doesn’t surprise me that Asher is the kind of guy who gets along with his exes; it would actually shock me if he wasn’t. Everyone likes Asher, and that’s the way Asher likes it.
“There’s not much to say about them,” I offer, hoping a simple answer will be enough to get him off of my back. “We didn’t date long, and it just didn’t work out.”
“Are you still friends?”
I wonder if Asher cares, or if he’s just asking because I did. I give him the same casual shrug he gave me. “Yeah, I guess. As much as we were before.”
I try to change the subject. “Should we hit Nadine again next week? Maybe do something really elaborate? Find a new vegetable to utilize? Maybe bury some frozen fish around her yard, really drive her dog nuts? Though honestly, I don’t think anything can beat the yard sculptures.” I smile, because just thinking about the gnomes in life jackets cracks me up. “Best birthday present ever.”
Asher laughs and I know he’s on to me. But I don’t care. I will come up with horrible, horrible things, if it means I don’t have to sit on this giant swan and spill my guts.
Asher
