Stevie hated birthdays. Once upon a time, she had loved them, but now she was 25. Still young, but life had thrown her some curveballs, and she felt older than her years. It all started when her neighbors decided to start fighting at 6 in the morning.
Jake and Barbara had gotten married too young, had kids too young (which incident led to the other was a constant source of arguments among the two). The love was gone from their marriage, but they were now stuck with each other, and three screaming kids. Barb was ok, if a bit lacking in backbone- she'd gained a little too much weight, and she was no longer as pretty as she once was.
Jake, on the other hand, was going bald prematurely, and considered himself some kind of "alpha male", just as he had been back in high school. Never mind his growing beer gut. He worked all the time, and spent almost no time at home, refusing to help around the house because "I pay the bills".
And of course, their arguments just caused their youngest kids to start bawling up a storm.
Seeing that her walls dampened sound about as well as a sheet of toilet paper, Stevie decided who needs sleep anyways?
Of course, checking her messages, she saw one from her boss. 'Sally called off. Need you to come in today at 1 pm.'
Did he ask? No. He just expected her to, despite her having taken the day off three weeks ago. And if she didn't come in, he'd make her life unbearable for the next week. Or pull her into a meeting, so he'd have a written record of her "not being a team player" or some other bullshit.
It being her birthday wasn't the actual reason she took the day off, of course. Three years ago, she'd lost her Dad to cancer. On her birthday. The date hadn't been the same since. She just wanted to curl up in bed and cry. But nope! Can't have that!
It also didn't help that she'd finally broken up with Corey less than a week ago. Not a day went by that he left her messages. 'u need to reconsider' 'we need to talk' and her favorite, 'this isn't over'.
He hadn't taken it well. Of course, the reasons Stevie had broken up with him were irrelevant. He was a racist, sexist, asshole who cheated on her, gaslit her, and stole from her. He lied about losing his job (he was fired) and didn't do anything all day but drink beer and play video games.
She was done with him, and she couldn't believe she'd wasted 5 years of her life on him. Maybe she needed more backbone too. But it was done.
She went to get something to eat, and, right after pouring a bowl of cereal, found she was out of milk. Fuck!
So she put on some sweatpants, pulled on her Dad's old hoodie, and headed out to the car. As she passed by the stupid mirror in the hall, she glanced at herself. She used to be sexy. 5' 9" and legs that went all the way up, people used to say. She swore she was. But now she looked tired. Her auburn hair looked faded. Her blue-grey eyes looked just regular grey. Her hair was a mess. She'd lost weight. 'God, I look like a crack addict with better teeth', she thought.
Going out to her car, she found her tires had been slashed. And a heart was carved into the side of her car. "God damn you, Corey!"
She screamed and wanted to cry.
Then she heard her other neighbor, Mrs. Rossi screaming. "STOP SWEARING, YOU HEATHEN!"
She should have gone back inside. But instead, she started to walk.
At first she didn't know where she was going, but her stomach was growling, so she found herself in front of a local bakery/coffee shop. Good Brews. Walking in, the bell rang, and the girl behind the counter said "good morning!"
She tried to smile. Lisa was a good kid. 17, small (right around 5') and very cute, with blond curly hair and sparkling blue eyes.
"Oh wow, Stevie, you look terrible, what's wrong?"
As Stevie was a regular, they were on a first name basis. "Things you wouldn't want to hear, hon. Just the usual, please."
But Lisa wasn't having it, she sat down at a table with Stevie, after bringing her manna from Heaven- a double mocha espresso and a Bavarian creme donut. "Where's the morning rush?" Stevie suddenly wondered.
Lisa sighed. "Oh you know, Dunkin Donuts opened a few blocks over this week. So everyone is there because it's the new hotness."
"I remember when I was the new hotness." Stevie sighed.
Lisa grinned. "Hey, you're still pretty, Stevie. You're just...going through a rough patch. You have to think positive!"
"Let's see what you say after I tell you about my day so far." Stevie filled her in, and the other girl got up and gave her a hug. Lisa was really a sweetheart.
"Ok, I'm sorry, that does suck. Oh hey! I have an idea!" The small girl practically bounced over to the cooler and took out a box. "We had a last minute cancellation, and this isn't going to sell, so..." She set a white paper box down on the table.
Opening it, Stevie saw it was a small birthday cake. "Oh I can't just take it, how much?"
Lisa shook her head. "It's yours. I was going to take it home myself, but I think you need it more."
So it was, about an hour later, Stevie got home, a one liter container of milk and the cake in hand. Jake must have gone to work, so the only sounds were of the kids playing in the yard. Stevie went inside and decided to have a slice of cake and a glass of milk for lunch.
Finding a few candles in a drawer, she lit them. "Well, Happy Birthday to me, I guess." She thought about making a wish, and figured, why not. "I wish things were more like they used to be." She blew out the candles.
After eating a slice of cake, she felt strangely tired, and fell asleep on the couch. When she woke up, she was...