Happy Birthday
A Story Every Day in 2024 20th July 202/366
"So, what are you doing for your birthday?"
Julie was sitting with her friends on the rare occasion they all met up with her. Julie understood.
"Nothing much really," she'd replied.
In two weeks, she'd be turning forty and she was looking forward to it immensely. These were her girls! Gloria, career girl with two boys; Betty, with twin girl tearaways; Imogen, with one of each and another on the way. They were busy mums and although they kept in touch regularly, Julie knew they were drifting because their lives had become something different. Julie didn't want to have a picnic by the play park; she didn't want to visit the zoo for the whole day; bottles to her were grapes and fizz but now they had teats.
She didn't envy their lives but she did envy their togetherness. She was missing out on the sisterhood and it made her sad. She was the outlier. She tried to join in but it was hard. Commonality was waning.
They'd met at uni where they'd been a coven, in-jokes galore, tears shed after vodka and embarrassing incidents never mentioned, or not to outsiders.
She remembered one night in their student house, squashed on the brown sofa, eating toast after going out, mascara-smudged and tired but fighting it because they could because they were young.
On TV was a documentary about people reaching 40 and celebrating alone. It was a light late TV night.
"That's so sad!" Betty had said. "Let's make a pact that when we reach 40, we make it the best day for each of us!"
Gloria raised her toast and said, "A toast to 40!", setting them all off giggling, a pact having been made.
When Julie's birthday came, she'd been expectant. Nothing planned because she'd wanted the day free for friends. Just like she'd done for them, sharing her time and her love on their special day.
And when she went to bed that night having been totally forgotten by all but her family, she felt foolish and betrayed.
Some pact.
She never asked them. Too busy, she supposed.
And she never forgot the present of utter loneliness on her 40th birthday.
***
366 words
I'm not sure that there are friends who would forget someone's birthday in this way but I am conscious of how busy life gets when you have kids and how things can slip by the wayside. Unintentionally, maybe, but the consequence is still the same.
Thanks for stopping by! If you do read this, please do leave a comment as I love to interact with my readers.
202/366
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Comments (4)
So good! As someone who until recently was a full Julie and has now got one foot in the other world this had lots of relatable aspects!
Hmm. Gosh. I felt this one. You write these “glimpses of life” so well. It’s like you’re writing down actual events/ conversations.
Okay first, the clown was me. Now Julie is me. This literally happened to me last week. Not the birthday thing. But yeah, friends change once their married and the friendship ain't the same anymore. I was so stupid to keep holding on to it all these years
Another brilliant slice of life!