“It is,” I say. “Go on.” I nudge him.
The greeting is almost deafening and I put my hands over Charlotte’s ears as John’s friends and family yell “Surprise!” and break into an uneven chorus of “Happy Birthday.” His face turns from confusion, to shock, to joy in moments. He grabs me and plants a sloppy kiss on my lips and I pull away quickly, laughing. I search for Rachel’s face in the crowd and am relieved to see her laughing too. My mouth goes dry when I spy Charlie next to her, clapping and cheering for a man he’s never met. But knowing Charlie, the fact that John is important to me is good enough for him.
John is engulfed with well-wishers when I hand Charlotte off to his mother and father, who flew in from Arizona and thankfully offered to provide child care for the night. John breaks free a few moments later and grabs my hand. “How long have you been planning this?”
“A long time,” I tease. “You like?”
“Yes. More than you know.”
“Happy birthday, Dad,” Audrey and Sophie say in unison as they wrap their arms around John.
“I love you guys. I don’t need anything else for my birthday. This is the best gift ever,” he says and I hear the tears in his throat. He looks at me, a softness in his eyes I haven’t seen in years, and it reminds me of how John looked at Rachel on their wedding day. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” I say as someone brings over a shot glass filled with what looks like tequila. John downs it in one gulp. The sight of the shot glass reminds me of the high school reunion and I look around at the waitstaff, dressed identically in white shirts and black pants, searching for Brian. My heart skips a beat when I think I spot him, but when I blink, he’s gone again. How silly of me to think he’d show up here.
“Hey.” I hear my own voice and turn around to find Rachel and Charlie.
“Hey,” I say casually as I grab a champagne flute off a passing tray and hope my knees don’t buckle underneath me in front of the only man I’ve ever loved.
CHAPTER 34
* * *
rachel
Casey takes a long sip of her champagne, her hand shaking slightly as she presses the flute to her lips. “Hey,” she says lightly, but doesn’t take her eyes off Charlie. “It’s Charlie, right?” She extends her hand.
“Thanks so much for having me,” he says sincerely as he shakes it, the sleeve of his jacket rising up to reveal a watch he told me was given to him by his father, one he rarely removes. I smile at the many special things I’ve learned about Charlie since I’ve known him, only reinforcing my feeling that he and Casey should give it another shot. “Great party,” he says, looking around the room, and I follow his gaze.
The large ballroom, not unlike the one where we had our high school reunion, is packed with familiar faces: John’s tennis partner, Jeremy, and his wife, Kelly, our neighbors who had become close friends; Sophie’s longtime best friend’s mom and her husband, whom we befriended after dozens of play dates; John’s colleague Martin and his partner, George, whose quick wit and funny stories make them frequent dinner guests at our house. So many people I want to talk to, but can’t.
“We’re so glad you could make it,” Casey answers and narrows her eyes at me slightly, signaling she’s still not completely on board with Charlie being here. Before I can offer her an apologetic smile, the catering manager comes over and stage-whispers something. “Excuse me,” she says, giving Charlie one more backward glance as she’s led away to deal.
“How many years have you guys been friends? You said since middle school, right?” he asks.
“Right, it’s been a long time,” I say carefully, the past two decades flashing before me, mental snapshots of our first sleepover, secret late-night phone conversations, huddled together next to my locker while I whispered the details of my first makeout session with John.
John. I find him in the crowd just as he reaches for Casey, who’s walking by. She pauses briefly as he leans in and says something that makes her smile. She laughs and gives his hand one last squeeze, her fingertips lingering on the end of his until she finally releases his hand and heads in the direction of the bar. John takes a long swig of his whiskey and watches her walk away, a smile on his face I haven’t seen in a long time.
What I wouldn’t do to have that smile shine on the real me again.
“They seem like a nice couple,” Charlie says and I realize he’s also been watching them.
“They are,” I say simply as I grab a shrimp off a passing platter.
“They must have a secret.” The sides of Charlie’s mouth turn down and he takes a drink of his scotch on the rocks, his eyes never leaving mine.
“What do you mean by secret?” I ask, startled.
Does he know?