Something Blue to Something New by Stephanie Elizabeth

Author:Stephanie Elizabeth [Elizabeth, Stephanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-06-10T04:00:00+00:00

17.

Laynie

“And then?!” Sescie demands. She sets a party hat and horn at each place setting, and I follow behind dropping goodie bags full of adorable tiny erasers shaped like animals, squishy toys in vibrant colors, and tiny pots of slime that smell like key-lime pie and watermelon mint.

We’re celebrating the twins' birthday. They may be solidly single digits, but we are doing it up right as far as I’m concerned. We’ve rented out Henny Penny Cafe, a local place where adults can sip on the perfect horchata latte while kids make dragon terrariums or mini clay hotdogs.

The long white arts and crafts space is studded with a ceiling full of overhead twinkle lights and crimson frames depicting child-made crafts on the walls. The air of whimsy and delicious sugary treats will mesmerize the girls and their friends–and for sure keep us off of the invite lists to any parties for the rest of the year, considering we’ll wind up sending these kids home in full-on sugar comas.

Mermaids and pink donuts and sparkles. What more could a pair of six-year-old’s want? Collins and Evie will completely flip when they see the set-up.

Though maybe not as much as my sister when I replayed my dinner and certain extracurricular activities with Eric for her.

I glance around the room to make sure no one is listening. This isn’t exactly the type of conversation that’s appropriate for a kids party.

“And then I left,” I whisper-hiss, remembering the brokenness in his voice when he said we couldn’t be friends. “What else was there to say?”

Sescie blinks several times like her brain is whirring to overdrive, trying to process everything I just said.

“Maybe that you both still clearly care for eachother?” She raises her eyebrows and throws up her hands in total exasperation.. “That maybe you could admit you’d both made a huge mistake five years ago and should try again?”

“Sescie,” I warn, my face dragged down in a frown of total frustration. “Be serious. I do care about Eric, of course I do. But that ship has long sailed. We’ve moved on. We’ve been apart for years.”

“Yeah, and now you’re together again.” She uncaps one of the pots of key-lime slime and kneads it between her fingers absently.

My sister constantly gripes about my nieces’ slime obsession, rolling her eyes especially hard when Collins tried to argue that playing with slime was a “proven stress reliever.” I’ve noticed she’s not above cracking some of the “devil’s putty” out when she’s feeling particularly stressed…or irritated with her little sister.

“We aren’t together,” I remind Sescie for the dozenth time.

“Okay. But you’re back in the same city. And, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the entire reason that y’all broke up because you were on opposite sides of the globe? Well, problem solved.” Sescie pops the slime back in its pot, twists the cap back on, and sets down the last of the party supplies, then wipes her hands together like she’s just completed some monumental task–or like she’s just solved all of my thorny relationship problems.

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