Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78340 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78340 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
I yelled, “Oh my god,” and rushed over to him, and as we grabbed each other in an embrace I exclaimed, “I’m so happy to see you! How are you here right now?” Then I held him out at arm’s length to get a good look at him. I felt like I was dreaming, but my best friend was right there in front of me, looking gorgeous as ever in his purple T-shirt, shorts, and matching headband.
Hal gestured at Dylan, who’d followed him inside, and said, “It’s only an hour’s flight from L.A., and your brother’s awesome boyfriend just picked me up at the airport. Lark invited me to the party, so I’m here to celebrate your son’s first birthday with you.”
Lark gave him a hug and exclaimed, “It’s so great to finally meet you!”
I picked up Owen, who was bouncing excitedly on the sofa, and Hal kissed the top of the baby’s head and gushed, “Hey there birthday boy, look how cute you are!”
Then I asked Lark and Hal, “How did you two get in touch?”
Lark was clearly proud of himself. “Remember when I asked to borrow your phone so I could look up a recipe? I was actually on a secret spy mission to snatch Hal’s number so I could invite him to the party.”
“I thought about inviting you myself,” I told Hal, “but I felt bad asking you to spend money to come see me. I know you’ve been pretty broke.”
“My boyfriend actually bought me the plane ticket. I think he was trying to get rid of me for the weekend, but you and I can discuss that later. Right now, I need you to introduce me to this blonde bombshell.” I made the introductions as he shook hands with JoJo, and then he told her, “Logan talks about you all the time, but he forgot to mention you’re an absolute icon. I study fashion design, and you’ve got ‘muse’ written all over you. How’d you get to be so fabulous?” She was currently dressed in white capri pants and a red, off the shoulder blouse that looked like something Sophia Loren would wear.
She flashed him a big smile and said, “I actually have an answer for that. I really thought about who I was meant to be when I transitioned, in terms of more than just gender, obviously. It was an opportunity to reinvent myself from the ground up, and since I was into retro, old Hollywood glamour, I named myself Josephine Deveraux and started to develop my style. We’re about twenty years down that road now, and I can finally say I love who I am.”
Hal was in total fan-boy mode. “Girl, yes! I just met you and I already love you, too.” Oh yeah, those two were definitely going to be great friends.
With the arrival of my bestie, the celebration started early. JoJo and Eliot kept pitchers of icy margaritas flowing, and later on all of us lingered over pizza and dessert, laughing and telling stories. It felt like Hal had been a part of our household for years.
Our little impromptu party finally broke up around eight, when I went upstairs to put Owen to bed. He’d been stirred up by all the excitement, so it took a few minutes to get him to calm down enough to fall asleep. I ended up resorting to singing him a song, which lulled him enough to eventually drift off.
I got up and grabbed the baby monitor off the dresser. Then I drew a sharp breath when I turned around and found Hal standing there. “Sorry,” he whispered, “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“It’s fine. I just didn’t hear you come upstairs.”
I turned on the monitor, and as we went back down to the living room, he said, “That was both really beautiful and pretty funny. Why’d you sing him a rock song?”
“Most songs for babies are insipid. Call me crazy, but I think ‘Carry On My Wayward Son’ is actually a pretty awesome lullaby, especially a cappella.”
“Agreed.”
I made us some drinks in the kitchen, and then we went out the back door and got comfortable at the patio table. The yard was all aglow with strands of tiny white lights, which had been hung up for the wedding the following weekend. “This place is amazing,” Hal said. “Not only is the house super cute, but all of your housemates are incredibly nice. And I can’t believe I finally met your brother Lark, after all these years!”
That was bittersweet. It really showed how Lark and I had drifted apart after he got kicked out. I felt like I’d known Hal forever, but by the time we met at fourteen, my brother had already been gone for two years.
I took a sip of iced tea before saying, “Coming here was the best choice I could have made. They all welcomed Owen and me right from the start, and I feel more comfortable and at home here than I ever did at my parents’ house. Plus, getting to know my brother after all that time apart has been the most amazing gift.”