It was a quiet day, really, in hindsight. The kind of birthday you forget about until you’re rummaging through old boxes and find a gift you don’t remember receiving, like that hourglass David had given me. I played with it obsessively when my mind started to spiral. The sand seemed to settle like my thoughts, slow and fluid, but just as unpredictable.
Peggy had come over for the party, but it felt more like a formality than anything else. She was nice enough, sure, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were just going through the motions. We didn’t even talk much. The awkwardness lingered between us like static on a bad radio signal, all there but never quite tuned in. Our conversations once lively became awkward and stilted.
After the party, we went out for Philly cheesesteaks
