“No, just studying. And you?”
“Liesel woke me up.”
Austin’s soft laugh echoes through the phone. “She’s a quirky one. Can’t wait to meet her one day.”
“When is that?” I ask, hopefully. Suddenly missing everything about him. “My birthday is the perfect time.”
There’s silence following my voice. I wait, and with every second that passes, the beat of my heart begins to slow down, a persistent ache following.
“I assumed you would be busy for your birthday.”
“Liesel is taking me shopping in the morning, then I have two classes. I have a dinner in the city with Andy, then Liesel’s boyfriend, Josh, is taking us to some club.”
“Club?” he repeats, his tone shifting.
“Yes, his brother owns it. I know what you’re thinking, we’re underage. But it’s not like I’m going to drink. What can go wrong?”
Liesel’s influence is clearly rubbing off on me as I try to convince Austin it’s all in harmless fun. My hair falls over my shoulder, the blanket covering me while I give him a moment before questioning his silence.
“I should go. It’s your birthday,” he responds glumly.
“Okay,” I say, unsure. “I guess this is it.”
“Enjoy the day, Amelia. I’m sure you’ll have fun.”
The phone call ends. Austin rarely calls me by my full name, and that alone should’ve prompted me for his distaste of my upcoming plans. A wave of anger momentarily overcomes the hurt. What does he expect me to do? He doesn’t want to visit me, and he didn’t invite me to visit him. Maybe, in hindsight, I should’ve offered. It feels like I am the only one trying to hold onto us, and he no longer cares.
I toss and turn, falling in and out of restless sleep for the rest of the night.
“Can you send me a pic of what you’re wearing?” Ava demands over the phone. “I’m so jealous you get to go to an actual club.”
“Don’t say anything to Dad,” I warn her. “Besides, Liesel’s boyfriend’s older brother owns the club, which is how we’re getting in. It’s my birthday, and I want to celebrate.”
“It’s your first birthday without us,” she whines into the receiver.
“Even more reason to have fun.”
I soon learn that being underage in college often leads to falsifying your age to have fun. Turning twenty-one feels like a lifetime, and after my phone call with Austin, more than ever do I just want to forget and have fun.
“Um…” There’s a shuffle, where I’m certain Ava shoved the phone under the pillow.
“Ava?”
“Ava?” I repeat louder. “I have to go—”
“Millie!” she snarls, catching my attention. “Dad just walked into my room. I hope he didn’t hear you.”
“Don’t say anything,” I remind her again. “Listen, I have to go.”
“Send me pics, okay? I want a full update tomorrow.”
I hang up the phone, quickly getting dressed into a black body-con dress and pairing it with dark-green strappy heels. With a quick blow dry, I style my hair to the side and clasp on my gold hoop earrings. I was never one to wear too much makeup, opting for a touch of mascara and a light shade of lipstick. Aside from my first semester in junior high, my skin rarely gets blemishes. Mom has good genes, and I’ll be a very lucky woman if I can look as good as her when I’m over forty.
Josh and Liesel insist we Uber into the city. They’re paying, so we don’t stress about parking. I keep my opinion to myself but assume Josh wants to drink, hence, his eager suggestion when he arrives at our dorm room.
The three of us met Andy at the restaurant. Thankfully, Andy is easy to get along with as we all have one thing in common—college.
Both Andy and I love Indian food. The spicier, the better. We order dish after dish until Liesel warns us of a potential stomach cramp should she try the Vindaloo. Josh loves it, digging in and ordering more. We laugh, eat to our hearts’ content, and just when Andy is about to call it a night since he has to catch a red-eye to Boston to attend some important function with his Dad, the waiters come out with a chocolate mud cake with vanilla frosting. The candles burn bright while they sing their hearts out, embarrassing me as patrons of the restaurant look on.