Page 49 of Full Circle

CELESTE

When I woke up on my birthday in April, I found Wesley grinning at me like the Chesire Cat. We were in River’s Run that morning and it was impossible for me to find any joy in my sweet sixteen. I wouldn’t be able to get my license since I hadn’t even had a chance to get a learner’s permit yet without Daddy to sign for it. Birthdays were already hard enough without Mama, so the prospect of spending one without either of them kept me from getting out of bed. Wesley was here to change that.

“Happy birthday, Celeste Renee Hendricks, the love of my life and the most beautiful girl in the world!” Wesley crooned. “Hurry up and get ready! We have something extra special planned today!”

I groaned into my pillow. “What do you mean ‘we?’”

“He means GET UP!” Maggie yelled, popping out from behind him and waving her arms in excitement. “It’s time to celebrate because a girl only turns 16 once!”

Despite my instinct to reject their surprise, I sat up and stretched. “Are y’all gonna make me do this? Even if I swear I don’t want to celebrate my birthday?”

Maggie rolled her eyes and looked at Wesley. “I told you she’d say that!” Turning back to me, she countered, “We want to celebrate your big day because you’re our favorite person. C’mon, you deserve to have a birthday to remember! Up and at ‘em!” She proceeded to cross over to the rickety dresser and rummage through my clothes.

Wesley stayed at my bedside and smirked. “I knew you’d say no and I’d cave because I hate not giving you what you want, so I recruited Maggie to our cause because she never cares if it pushes your buttons.”

“That’s evil!” I whined.

“So is the fact that you sleep in nothing but your panties here, but wear long pajamas when we’re alone in Atlanta,” Wesley countered, giving my body a onceover that made my skin heat.

It was totally true. “Well, it’s not my fault your penthouse is ridiculously cold!” Pulling my blanket over my sports bra and spandex short sleep attire I tried to keep my mind off the memories of Wesley touching my bare skin. It felt like a lifetime ago.

“What about school?” I made my last ditch effort, a feeble excuse at best.

Wesley snorted. “There’s a rule that says you can’t spend your sixteenth birthday in their building.” When I rolled my eyes at him, he held up his hands in surrender. “Hey, I don’t make ‘em, I just enforce ‘em!”

“Here!” Maggie cried triumphantly. “Put these on!” Clothes hurtled onto my lap as she danced in place, unable to contain her excitement.

If my best friend was this worked up, I was in for something completely over the top. Wesley merely continued to grin at me over her head as they both made their way to the stairs so I could change.

“Oh—and wear sneakers!” she called up the staircase. “We’re gonna be doing a lot of walking!”

“Ugh!” I groaned again, falling back onto my lumpy pillows in defeat.

An hour later, we exited Maggie’s rusty old hatchback at the airport in front of the Madden family jet. My hopes instantly soared. Wherever we were going wasn’t here in River’s Run.

I recognized Atlanta as soon as the plane began its descent and once again felt my hopes go up. Spending my birthday with Daddy would be the best gift ever, but it certainly didn’t involve a lot of walking. Daddy couldn’t even handle walking from his bed to the bathroom anymore. My suspicions were confirmed when the waiting car merged onto an unfamiliar highway going the opposite direction from the hospital. Still, it was unlikely that Wesley would bring me all the way here just to keep me from my dad.

“Are you serious?!” I whooped as we drove through the gates.

Wesley and Maggie both nodded vigorously.

We were at Six Flags amusement park, one of the places on my bucket list to visit someday. I had never been on a roller coaster before.

Maggie squealed with delight the moment the car pulled up to the entrance. Before he could get out, I grabbed Wesley by the sleeve of his t-shirt. Concern rimmed his bright blue eyes.

“How did you know?” I whispered.

“Know what?”

“That I’ve always wanted to come here.” My heart was fluttering again, something it hadn’t done in a really long time. For the first time all year, I was actually feeling.

Wesley was all smirk. “Because I know you, Lovebug.” He kissed me, pulling away before the passion grew, and quickly exited the Cadillac.

I never had so much fun in my life. Wesley pulled some strings with one of the park shareholders, who also happened to be a neighbor at M Tower, and got special passes that let us walk to the front of every line. And not just those line hopper things they advertised in commercials where you got to go in a shorter line with priority seating. No, we were able to flash ours and move directly to the operating attendant. We also had an unlimited food allowance, resulting in Maggie and I stuffing our faces with more French fries, cotton candy, and pizza than a human being should be allowed to consume. Wesley didn’t want to ruin his “training” and stuck to light salads throughout the day.

By the time we rode everything three times, including a roller coaster with a 95 foot drop, I was ready to cut my feet off. My entire body hurt from whiplash after being thrown every which way, but I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face. Poor Maggie’s voice was gone after all the screaming and we had never laughed so hard. I never wanted the day to end.

“Are we ready to move onto the next phase of Operation Birthday Surprise?” Wesley asked, stretching his long legs out in front of him. The three of us had collapsed onto a bench after a fourth ride around on the Georgia Scorcher, which had instantly become my favorite ride.

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