Chapter 14
Reggie did hold a funeral for their mom. Their aunt flew in from Mississippi, offering to take Reggie with her when she went back. But they firmly said no. They had family here. Everyone stayed with Reggie for a while, Nick and Julie staying the closest. When Nick was filling out college applications, Reggie decided they should into some, too. Before long, it was a week before graduation and Reggie’s eighteenth birthday was the next day. They kept insisted they didn’t want anything, that they had enough, but Julie still wanted to do something.
“Are you sure a surprise party is the best idea?” Alex asked, concerned they were gonna trigger some PTSD episode in Reggie.
“Ordinarily, no.” Julie admitted. “But, Reggie trusts Nick and me more than anything. If one of us leads them into the party, they’ll have a sense of safety.”
“Couldn’t we just all hang out and give them presents?” Alex questioned again, playing with the strings to the hoodie Reggie had given him for his birthday a month before.
Julie deflated a little, “Well, yeah. I just wanted to do something special. Reggie’s never had a birthday party.”
“Wait, never?” Luke almost shouted, “How has he never had a party?” Julie raised an eyebrow at him, “Right, terrible parents. Continue.”
Julie shrugged, “I just wanted to give them a nice one before we all go off to college.”
Nick had been texting with Reggie, who was stuck at the doctor getting their cast removed. “I think it’s a nice idea, Julie. We can do a surprise, I just don’t think we should yell.”
Julie nodded, “Yeah, just kind of lead them into the room and have everyone waiting, but without yelling surprise?”
“Exactly.” Nick smiled. “I think they’ll enjoy it.”
Flynn raised her hand, jutting her thumb toward Luke and Willie, “Who’s gonna duct tape their mouths shut?”
Luke let out an offended noise, but Willie nodded. “Alex can.”
Julie shook her head, “You’ll end up making out. I’m gonna have Carlos do it.”
“Fair.” The three boyfriends agreed.
The next day, Julie took Reggie out for breakfast before Nick picked them up. The two of them were walking through the park, “Happy birthday, babe.” Reggie just smiled, pressing a kiss to Nick’s cheek. “I can’t believe you didn’t want anything special today.”
Reggie shrugged, “Why bother? It’s just another day.”
“No it’s not, Reg. It’s another year you’ve survived.” Nick wrapped his arm around their waist, pressing into ticklish spots he’d learned so he could hear their laugh as they swatted at his hands. “I love you, babe.”
“I love you, too, baby.” Reggie grinned, wrapping their arms around his neck.
“You almost ready to head back for dinner?”
“Almost.” Reggie smiled, leaning forward and stealing a kiss from their boyfriend. “Okay. Now I’m ready.” Nick laughed, pressing quick kisses all over Reggie’s face before leading them to his car. Nick hoped this would go as well as they planned it to.