Oh great, here come the waterworks again. I should probably just accept the fact I’m going to cry a lot today.
Jordy sets the tray on the bed and tells me she’ll be right back. While she’s gone, I take in the two plates laden with fluffy scrambled eggs, strips of crisp bacon, toast, small bunches of grapes, and orange slices. Jordy scurries back into the room with another tray, this one holding cups of coffee and glasses of orange juice.
“I can’t believe you did all this,” I say as we get settled in my bed. “You’ve been holding out on me, Jordyn Jenkins. This looks incredible.”
She shrugs off my praise. “It’s basic stuff. My nephew went through a phase earlier this year where all he’d eat was scrambled eggs, so I pretty much had to learn to make them.”
I have a piece of bacon halfway to my mouth when I realize something. “We didn’t have bacon in the house. Or grapes. Or…well almost everything you’ve just served me.”
“Would you believe me if I told you the birthday fairy helped me out?” she asks, her face a mask of innocence.
“Oh? And what did this birthday fairy look like? Tall and impeccably dressed with perfect makeup, despite the early hour? Curvy with blue-streaked sandy hair and a nose ring? Or maybe short with huge brown eyes and a sweet-looking face?”
Jordy shakes her head. “More like…five-ten with great hair and a British accent.”
I nearly choke on a grape. “Spencer? Spencer washere? He brought this stuff? When? How? He’s not still here, is he?” We haven’t seen each other since Monday night, although we’ve spoken a few times, including a text last night where he assured me he’d be at my party.
Jordy laughs so hard, she tips over on the bed. “You should see your face!” she cries between gasping breaths. I shove her arm, which only makes her laugh harder. Her amusement is contagious, and soon I’m laughing too.
When she finally collects herself, she lets out a long sigh and wipes her eyes. “Spencer isn’t still here, so don’t worry about him suddenly popping into your room and seeing your bed head and snowflake jammies. I got the idea for breakfast last night, but knew there was no way I’d have time to go to the store, get back, and cook before you got up. I called Spencer and asked for help, and he dropped everything off on his way to work. He said to say happy birthday and he’ll see you tonight.”
“Wow. Well, I couldn’t ask for a better start to my day. Thank you, Jordy.”
Silence falls as we go back to eating. Jordy is the first to speak. “Would you mind dropping me off at my sister’s later? I want to spend some time with her and the kids before I go. I can do my homework there.”
Jordy’s last day of school was this past Tuesday. Christmas break doesn’t start until the end of next week, but Jordy didn’t see the point of attending school when she’ll be leaving soon anyway. She’s doing her classes online until Christmas break begins and then she’ll be starting school in Calgary in January.
“Sure. Are you going to get ready for the party here or take your stuff with you?”
She tilts her head, looking at me as if I’m speaking a foreign language. “I figured I’d spend the night at my sister’s to get out of your hair for a bit.”
Despite the disappointment that settles heavily in my stomach, I try not to let it creep into my face or tone. “So you’re not coming to the party?”
Jordy’s laugh is as bewildered as her expression. “Well, no? You’re turning thirty-five and your party is at a bar. I assumed you’d just want your friends there and not some underage high schooler.”
Now it’s my turn to laugh. “I’m so stupid. You assumedIwouldn’t want you there, whileIassumed you’d be coming, so it didn’t occur to me to formally invite you. You’re not just some random underage high schooler, Jordy, you’re my friend. I can understand if you don’t want to come, but if you do, I want you there.”
Her cheeks flush. “Are you sure? I don’t want you to feel like you have to invite me just because I’m living here. I can spend the night at my sister’s. I thought I’d do that anyway in case you want to bring Spencer home to—”
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” I blurt. “Spencer and I are friends, that’s it. There will be no bringing him home to…” I trail off, flustered. “There will be no bringing him home, period.”
Jordy rolls her eyes. “Yeah, okay, whatever you say, Hol.”
I give her a narrow-eyed look. “I want you at my party,” I tell her, deciding it’s best to guide the topic back to safer ground. “My friends would love to meet you. And if you’re bored, I won’t be offended if you bail early and come home.”
“And miss seeing the dancing queen herself in action? I don’t think so.” She pops a grape into her mouth and chews slowly. “I’d like to come. This might be my last chance to meet your friends. There’s just one problem.”
“I’m not getting you a fake ID if that’s what you’re thinking.”
She scoffs, slapping my arm. “As if. No, I don’t have anything to wear.”
I think about the contents of my closet, immediately dismissing any option that comes to mind. I’m sure Jordy would die of embarrassment to be seen in any of my clothes, plus they’d be too big for her anyway. We had plans to go shopping this weekend; Jordy wants to spend a bit of the money Spencer loaned her on some new clothes. She confided in me a few months ago that she was never actively bullied at school, but everyone knew she was poor and knew about her family’s problems. Part of the fresh start she’s hoping for in Calgary includes a wardrobe refresh to replace her worn out hand-me-downs and ill-fitting thrift store finds.
“How would you feel about bumping our weekend shopping trip to today?” I ask. “I wouldn’t mind a little birthday retail therapy. Maybe some lunch at the diner, and then a trip to Cravings for something sweet?”
Jordy’s eyes go comically wide. “You realize it’syourbirthday today, not mine, right?”
“Let’s call it a general celebration. My birthday, prep for your new start, and a bit of early Christmas cheer thrown in for good measure since you won’t be here for the holidays.”
