When the Heart Falls

"Until puberty.” She smiles, but it’s a smile of regret.

“Puberty’s a bitch.” Puberty affected us each differently, though Rodney curtailed any normal development I might have had in that department.

Jenifer looks down at her lap, fiddling with her napkin. "He would have killed me, you know. That time you found us in the park, he would have killed me."

I shake my head. "Trevor wasn't that stupid.”

"No. I told him we weren't friends. And he picked up a rock. He was going to bash my head in. I could see it in his eyes." Her hand shakes as she spears a carrot with her fork.

"He didn't do anything."

Her eyes widen, shiny with liquid. "Only ‘cause you caught him."

I want to cheer her up, but I’m not sure how, because I don’t know what brought on this sad stroll down memory lane. "You would have kicked his ass.”

"I wonder about that.” She moves the carrot around on her plate. "If you weren't there, what would have happened? I keep wondering about that."

"Why? It happened a long time ago."

"Doesn't feel that way.” She has a faraway look in her eyes. "Never feels that way."



I do my best to move the conversation to small talk, and she tells me about her shopping trips, the great deals she found, and how much she loves Paris. I don’t share her shopping bug, but I love it here, too. We’re nearly done with lunch when I ask her about Duke.

"Busy.” She steals the last breadstick, and I let her. "He's dealing with… " she spits out the words like rotten food "…customers all day."

My temper flares at that. "Really?"

"Really."

"Do you love him?" I have to walk a fine line here. I don’t want to talk shit about a guy she loves, but I also can’t stand to see her hurting.

"I think so. I mean, we haven't broken up yet. That's a record for me."

Oh, Jenifer. You deserve so much better than an asshole drug dealer. But instead of burdening her with my thoughts, I redirect. "Ready for dessert?"

"Sure.” She sinks into her chair, all joy gone from her. I should never have asked about that jerk. Hopefully, this will improve her mood. I hold up a hand to get the attention of Vincent, and he comes to the table followed by all the servers at the restaurant.

Jenifer sits up straighter. "What's going on?"

The servers begin singing the French version of Happy Birthday. I join with them in singing as Vincent pours her a glass of champagne and places a piece of chocolate cake in front of her with a lit candle in it. "Someone told me there's a birthday girl here today."

Jenifer is silent.

I interrupt my own singing and reach out to hold her hand. "You didn't think I forgot, did you?"

"I… " Jenifer is speechless, which is a first.

"Of course I remembered. Now, drink up. I'm taking you somewhere special next."

"Ah, yes," Vincent says, his eyes lit up. "I told Winter of this place. My parents used to take me there every Saturday. You'll love it."

"You didn't have to do this," Jenifer says. Tears are forming in her eyes, and I hope they’re happy ones.

"Of course I did. You're my best friend, Jenifer."

She squeezes my hand. "Thank you."

"Happy Birthday.”

Jenifer closes her eyes and then blows out her candle.

“What did you wish for?”

Tears fall from her eyes. “If I tell, it won’t come true, and it has to come true.” She passes me a fork and puts the cake in the middle. “Help me eat this?”

I can’t resist chocolate, so I take the fork and smile at her. “Chocolate cures everything.”

She laughs through her tears, chocolate crumbs on her lips that she licks off.



The sun is setting as we arrive at the Chateau de Vaux le Vicomte. It’s a grand estate, like a palace in fairytales, and it looks magical lit up at night.

"They use 2000 candles to light up the castle and garden,” I tell her. "They only do it on Saturdays though. Your birthday's perfectly timed."

"I never even knew about this place.” Her smile is genuine, with no trace of sadness. The chocolate did its work. “It's beautiful.”

"They built it for a king.” I point to its foundation. "And see, it's completely on a moated platform. And the doors are mostly glass so you can see the garden from the inside."

Jenifer giggles. "You sound like Cade.”

"I try. The research took hours."

"Soon you two will start to look alike, and then you’ll get those dogs that also look like you.”

The thought amuses me as I try to imagine us in the future.

Jenifer wraps an arm around me and squeezes. "Thank you.”

"Don't thank me yet. I haven't even given you your present." I pull out a gift from my backpack and hand it to her. “Happy Birthday.”

It’s wrapped in bright pink paper with glittery stars all over it and a big bow in the center. It’s so Jenifer.

“This is so me,” she says, reading my mind.

“Open it!”

She carefully peels the wrapper open and gasps as she reveals the giant golden star on a black plaque. She reads the inscription under the star.



Jenifer,