Anything but Ordinary(65)

If not for the occasional look from Carter, she might have even forgotten that time was running out. With all the rest Bryce was getting, she had very little stress. Without stress, she had no visions.

She didn’t miss the burning pain, but she had to admit she missed the memories. She didn’t care about seeing the future, or whatever it was she saw. Five minutes from now, Bryce would be eating Carter’s birthday breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes and applewood-smoked bacon. That was her future.

“There’s the birthday girl!” Bryce’s mom greeted her.

Her dad was leaning over the counter, reading the paper. “Do you have comfortable clothes on?” Aside from a bear hug, that was his only birthday greeting.

“When do I not?” Bryce asked, confused. “Why do you ask?”

“You’ll see,” he said, rubbing his hands together.

“No no no…” Bryce heard from the stove. Carter was overseeing Sydney as she worked the bacon. “Don’t flip it. It doesn’t have the right crispiness. You can tell by the bubbles.”

“Just stick to your pancakes and let me do my job,” her sister muttered. “Oh, hey, Bryce.”

“Bryce!” Carter lit up, crossing the kitchen with batter stains on his shirt. He still refused to wear an apron, greeting her with a savoring hug and a kiss that said he hadn’t seen her in years. The same way he did every day.

“Sit, sit, sit.” Bryce’s mother ushered her to the table.

No one was allowing Bryce to do any work in the kitchen. But that meant they weren’t allowing her to sneak handfuls of chocolate chips, either.

Bryce looked over her shoulder to Sydney, who was avoiding crackles of bacon grease with her tongs in the air.

“Did you get the present I left on your bed?” Bryce called.

“You’re not supposed to get other people presents on your own birthday,” Sydney said, flipping a strip of bacon. “Only old people do that.”

Bryce took this to mean yes. While Carter studied at the Vanderbilt Library yesterday, Bryce had finished with Huck Finn and wandered over to the computers, searching until she found what she was looking for. Last night before Sydney got home, Bryce left a printout on her pillow.

SAVANNAH COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN—PRODUCTION. SOUND DESIGN. PERFORMING ARTS. MUSIC MANAGEMENT.

Sydney gave her sister a one-sided smile over the stove. She’d consider it on her own time, but Bryce at least wanted her to know that when she got tired of the Nashville industrial district, there were options. It wasn’t much, but it was something. Moving her in the right direction. She knew what it was like to get caught up in your own little world.

Bryce’s thoughts were interrupted by scuffles and whispers. She started to turn around.

“Don’t!” a chorus of voices let out.

Bryce snickered and obediently stayed put.

She had given her parents a present, too, but she knew they wouldn’t accept it on what was supposed to be “her” day, so she just set it on the mantel. She wondered when they would notice the framed original of their prom picture, back out of storage, next to a framed print of the picture Bryce took of them. They had gotten the pose exactly identical. In love, then and now.

Two flicks of a lighter. A whispered, “One, two, three…”

“Happy birthday to you…” Her father’s deep, out-of-tune voice stuck out from the chorus of Sydney, her mom, and Carter singing to her.

Bryce turned around. Her mother held a tall stack of chocolate chip pancakes with two candles stuck in them. Bryce laughed and put her hands on her mouth. “Oh, yum!”

She could almost taste the melted chocolate. Everyone stood around her.

Bryce closed her eyes to make a wish, but she was coming up blank. She couldn’t think of anything. She squeezed her eyes tighter and gave a nervous smile, knowing they were waiting on her. But everything seemed to have fallen from the sky exactly how it should have, even the bad stuff. This is how it was, and she couldn’t imagine it any better.

Carter touched her shoulder. Bryce opened her eyes to the two bright flames. She enjoyed the sight of them flickering, bright and alive, and then she blew them out.

Soon the clatter of forks and knives joined the chatter of stuffed mouths, and everyone had to tell Carter to shut up when he started criticizing his own cooking.

“So.” Carter finally changed the subject, biting off a strip of bacon. “Jane’s expecting a visit sometime. They have a card for you in the neurology wing.”

“You told them it was my birthday?” Bryce looked at him accusingly.

He winked at her. “They have your paperwork, Bryce. They know your DOB.”

“Well played,” Sydney said, popping a bite of pancake into her mouth.

“Yeah.” Carter cleared his throat. “My dad and I…were there, and spoke to them yesterday.”

Bryce put down her fork. “Your dad?”

“Yes, where is this mysterious father and when do I get to ask him which sports teams he supports?” Bryce’s father asked between chews.

Bryce’s gaze was locked on Carter across the table. He hadn’t mentioned his dad visiting Sam. Was he happy about it? She couldn’t tell.

“Well,” Carter said, returning Bryce’s look with a small smile, “you may run into him over there if you’re back at the hospital sometime.”