Flowers for My Brithday

A stack of eight-inch hot pancakes sits on a plate on the oakwood table with butter melting through.  To its side, a bowl of real homemade grape jelly.  A little brunette, blue-eyed girl slowly lifts her head above the table by tip-toeing.  A big smile on her face and her widened eyes steadily glued on those cakes.  She looks back to see if daddy is looking.  He's not.  She just wants a taste, so she starts to reach for them.  "Aria," says her dad in a warning tone.  She quickly pulls her hand back and behind her, and faces him, "Yes, sir?"  He has a smirk on his lips as he flips a pancake, "What did we talk about yesterday when I said I was making pancakes?"  Molly walks in, fresh out of the shower, "Morning!"  "Hey, babe."

"I don't know.  I slept since then," Aria says.  Molly has a smile on her face, "She's been listening to you."  "She has, hasn't she," he says, turning the stove off.  "Come here, you little runt," he says dashing toward her.  Aria still isn't fast enough to run away, but she tries.  Her giggles burst out immediately.  That's exactly what she wanted.

Later on that day, her dad had taken her shopping and she enjoyed getting fruit to eat at the farmers market.  When they got back, she walked in and everyone yelled, "SURPRISE!"  It was her birthday.  She is 6 years old now.  All fifteen of her homeschool buddies showed up.  Among those buddies were two boys whose names were Drew and Arturo.  Drew was her age.  Arturo was five years older.  She noticed those two more than the others.  Arturo kept much to himself, except with her.  He was open and laughed at all her jokes, but would be silent when others were around.  Drew was a little rougher around the edges.  He played rough and often got angry.

One time, he was so angry at her he went to hit her, but Arturo pushed her out of the way.  When Molly walked in, she only saw the aftermath.  Her dad had a stern talk with Arturo and his mom, Criselda, but he would not confess to anything.  He would simply cry.  He did apologize as his mom instructed him to.  That was two years ago.  Being only 4, Aria didn't quite understand what was going on.

As the party went on, Drew got angry playing board games and quit.  He went instead to play video games on his cell phone.  Aria noticed Arturo was outside on the swing set.  She purposely lost the board game so she could go outside with Arturo.  He seemed so alone gently swinging and solemn.  She took the swing next to him and said, "I bet I can swing higher."  Arturo smiles big.  "Ready, set..." He tried to get ready, but before she said, go, she swings.  "Hey," he exclaims with laughter!  She swings three times, giggling the whole time, and jumps off it, "I race you to the treehouse!"

She gets up there first.  It was an 8x8 treehouse that was five feet tall inside.  When Arturo gets up there, he takes a small rolled-up brown paper bag from out of his pant cargo pocket.  "Happy birthday, Aria."  "What are y'all doing up there," yells Drew climbing, interrupting the moment.  Aria quickly hides the gift.

Fifteen years later, she sits in her 1964 purple glaze Volkswagen Beetle at 3am in a friend's driveway.  Her friend doesn't know she's there.  If Beckah knew, she wouldn't let her stay out there.  She just wants time to think.  She just got off work and she's not ready to head home.  It's not home.

Her father past away when she was 14.  Arturo was there watching from a distance as Drew comforted her.  Every year after that, Arturo would secretly send her flowers on the eve of her birthday with a little note that said, "since the day I saw you, I have loved you."

Two years later, Arturo was back for the summer. He never said what he was doing.  He tried to tell Aria something by inviting her out, but Aria felt it strange since he was 21 and she was only 16.  She did not show up.  He called and she asked him not to call anymore.  Still, every year without fail, she would get flowers for her birthday.

Molly had remarried someone half the country away almost immediately.  Aria then went to live with her aunt in the same town.  Arturo's mom passed away about a year after.  She wanted to go to the funeral, but no one would take her.  Only three people showed up to it.  And she only found out because Drew said something about it.

She thought she was in love with Drew.  He was the captain of the football team.  He was desired by all the girls and admired by many.  He seemed like he panned out really well.  He went to the University and was concentrating on sports and fitness.  He opened his own gym which grew fast.  Everything seemed right.

It was a month into their marriage when her birthday came.  This time no flowers were delivered.  She knew then they were not coming from Drew as she had supposed.  Recently, he has become aggressive and argumentative.  He puts her down at every turn.  He creates problems and blames it on her.  He has started slapping her.  And now that she works a night shift as a nurse, she is sure he is sleeping around.  She reaches her end of it and divorces Drew after only six months of marriage.  She was glad he hadn't gotten her pregnant, yet.

A few months after that, she is rummaging through her keepsakes and outfalls this mysterious rolled-up brown paper bag.  The birthday present from Arturo.  She had never opened it.  She looked at it and wondered why he didn't package it like a real gift.  She finally opened it.  Inside was her favorite lollipop in the shape of a flower.  And she almost threw the bag away, when a small folded piece of paper dropped out of it.  She opened it and it said, "Since the day I saw you, I have loved you."

She starts to cry.  She remembers all the flowers every year.  She packed up a suitcase and left town to go find Arturo.