Page 152 of Only Fate

All our friends are here.

It’s nice to call them that now.

They’ve all accepted me with open arms.

Sure, the few girls didn’t at first, compliments of Essie, but now, we’re all close buds.

The parents are here as well.

Carolina didn’t mention what she’d nearly walked in on during the car ride, but you could tell she knew something by the expression on her face.

Amelia and Jax closed the brewery tonight to throw my party. He’s behind the bar, slinging drinks. A birthday banner hangs above his head. A cake, finger foods, and plates are set out.

Country music bellows from an old-school jukebox, andmost of us are seated on stools at one long table that you’d see in a school cafeteria.

We all bullshit with each other, catching up on our lives.

“The party is here!”

I turn around at the sound of my abuela’s voice. I smile, seeing her walk in with Terrance and my mother. Lately, I’ve seen my mother more than I ever have. She takes every Sunday off to have dinner with us.

My abuela has been on a mission to convince her to move to Blue Beech.

Do I think it’ll happen? Probably not.

It’s too far from her second home—her office.

My abuela has also tried setting her up on dates with guys here.

She declines them all.

I don’t recall my mother ever dating. Even after all these years, she hasn’t moved on from my father. They met when she first moved to the States. She was young and only spoke Spanish. He lived across the street, helped her learn English, and she said he pretty much taught my abuela and her everything they needed to know about becoming Americans.

She can’t move on from the good memories of my father.

There are more of them than bad.

I don’t blame her. I did pine over Essie for almost a decade, but our situation is also different. He’s gone forever, and I wish she’d find love again.

Moving on is hard.

Scary.

Trying something new is even harder.

I hope, with time, she’ll find happiness.

That she’ll stop revolving her entire life around work to forget her loneliness.

“All right, so I have to tell everyone something,” Ava announces to our table.

Everyone turns quiet, and Jax moves out from behind the bar. He stands next to Amelia and kisses her cheek.

“I was offered a really good position at a different hospital,” she says. “It’s a few hours away.”

Everyone’s attention goes to separate places.

The other parents go to her parents, waiting for their reaction.

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