Chapter 10 Happy Birthday?
8 years ago
Rain
I am laying on my bed, staring at the ceiling. I glance over at the phone in my hand looking to see if there’s been a text message sent, although if one came in, my phone would give me a notification. Still, I can’t quite believe she wouldn’t call me or at least text me.
Maybe I should believe it. In the more than a year and a half I have lived in this house, and my mom married Derek, my life has become very different than it was back then. Maybe some people would think that we’re better off now because Derek has all this money, we live in a big mansion, we have staff, I attend a prestigious private school, I have designer labeled clothes, lots of electronic toys, and all of that shit. However, now, I no longer really have my mom. She’s kind of disappeared from my life. Once it was her and I against the world. Now, it’s her and Derek off wherever, doing whatever, and me here left alone basically.
I know that Sade and Zoey technically live in this house as well, and there’s staff around. That’s not my mom though. Zoey and I hate each other, and she never misses an opportunity to make me miserable. If not here at home, then when she sees me at school. I’m glad she’s a grade ahead of me, that way we don’t have any classes together. Her being in the same building is bad enough. Next year she moves to the Jr. High building, so that will be a relief.
Sade still watches me all the time. He is polite, but I have come to realize that Sade doesn’t have emotions like normal people, he pretends with people, but I have seen that he just doesn’t operate that way. The staff is just that, staff, so they are basically the ones that invisibly take care of the house, laundry, cooking and driving us places.
I hear a knock on my door, and after glancing at the blank screen of my phone one more time, I get up and answer it. Sade is standing there, and I just wait. “Come down to the kitchen.”
He doesn’t ask, but then he normally doesn’t. Technically we have been left under his charge as he’s now almost 15, which in my opinion is still stupid all things considered. I have gotten a lot of indications that Derek doesn’t really care for his children. They have been raised by nannies and the staff, he throws money at them and considers that he’s done his fatherly duty. He’s started to do that with me, but I’m not so much into the money stuff as they are.
After we get to the kitchen, Sade walks into the pantry so I jump up on one of the stools around the island. We eat here most of the time. On the rare occasions when the parents are home, or there’s a gathering, we use the dining room, but other than that, we eat here. I see Sade walk back out of the pantry.
In his hands is a single cupcake, and in the top is a single lit candle. He remembered. Today is my 10th birthday. My mom hasn’t called me or texted me, but Sade is standing here in front of me with a candle in a cupcake, so he remembered. I try to smile but I’m sure it’s a bit watery. He watches me like he usually does, like he’s trying to understand me, like he’s trying to figure me out or dissect me. Like he’s trying to burrow inside my head and live there or something.
“Happy Birthday Rain.” He says it rather flat, but that’s just Sade, it’s that emotionless state that he lives in when he’s not pretending.
I cleared my throat, “Um, thanks, you remembered it’s my birthday?”
“Of course I remembered your birthday. I will never forget something like that.” He seems almost annoyed that I said that, but I’m not sure how much of that is emotion, and how much something else.
He sits the cupcake in front of me and I do the obligatory blowing out of the candle, “Is there only 1?”
“No, I asked the cook to make them for your birthday, so she made several, but aren’t girls supposed to not like to be reminded of their age? So, I only used 1 cupcake, and 1 candle.” He seemed puzzled.
“No, this is great Sade, thanks. I just didn’t want you not to have any if you wanted.” He nods, seeming to understand.
“What do you want for your birthday?” This is a normal thing to ask in this household. All about getting something.
“I can’t really think of anything off the top of my head. It’s not like I don’t have all of the material things I might want, so it’s rather difficult to think of something I don’t already have that I might need or whatever for my birthday.” He tilts his head like he’s thinking about that.
“Would you like for me to take you to the mall so you can look for something?” He knows that’s what Zoey would want, but I wrinkle my nose and he hones in on the action.
“Ah, no, but thanks. I’m really not too much into shopping.” He nods.
“How about you redecorate your room? I know you don’t like it.” He says like it’s a common thing for him to know that when no one else does. My mom probably does, but to her, that’s not really important anymore.
“Could we really do something like that? Would we get into trouble? I would think your dad would get mad at us doing that without him knowing ahead of time and getting his permission.”
Sade smiles, it’s a pretty good smile as far as Sade goes, on most other people it would look flat and fake, but with Sade, that is the only kind of smile he has, and he doesn’t have a whole lot of them.
“He won’t care, I have already spoken with him about the idea. He said it was fine, and when you decide what you want to do we'll tell Angelo and then I will have him contact the contractor and decorator we have used in the past.”
I blink, “Ah, okay, then yes, if he gave his permission, then I would love to change my room.”
“Then consider it done.” I believe him when he says that.