• C H A P T E R T W E N T Y - E I G H T •

the one with
the birthday wishes

Jezzine's nature was breathtaking. Ghia offered driving for a little bit around town because of their exhaustion after the heavy lunch with her parents, who had been incredibly welcoming and warm to them and even offered they stayed the night here instead of having to stay on the roads for additional hours. They had walked around Souk el Sedd, meeting owners of provision shops and cafes offering traditional food they were too full to taste. Ghia seemed to know most of them from her parents. They stopped at a few craft shops, Chloe making them stay an extra few minutes at Haddad Cutlery as she admired the handcraft, intently listening as Ghia translated the history the owner of the shop narrated.

"It dated since 1770. They used to produce army rifles, knives, uhm, swords. Now it became a cutlery business. The firebird handles are made of..." Ghia faltered as she spoke something in Arabic. "I don't know the word, hold on-" She fished out her phone to google. "-Oh, Buffalo horns. He's also saying they've been presented by Lebanese presidents." Ghia gave up on translating and continued conversing with the old couple about the country's crappy politics, while Chloe picked a firebird keychain to buy as a souvenir.

Ghia took them to see the tallest waterfall in Lebanon, then drove on the road to Shouf, where they were met with the astounding landscape, and finally parked the car further down the road in Azzibeh. She was translating to them what an elder man was narrating about the 'Jisr Al Khalas', that the Ottoman army wasn't allowed to get into Jezzine because it was part of Mount Lebanon - this bridge was the border and hence the origin of the name, which in English was 'salvation bridge'.

"Pont Al Khalass," Veronica read the English letters with furrowed brows. "What does 'pont' mean?"

"It's pont," Ghia pronounced it with a silent 't' and 'n', with a more nasal sound for the 'o', and Veronica blinked. "It's French for bridge."

"Oh," Allen's mouth became round as he remembered. "Is that because you were part of the French mandate?"

Ghia nodded eagerly with a small smile. "Exactly. Right after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire," she paused with a proud grin. "Wow. All those years of swallowing useless history books in school finally came in handy to me."

"I remember Bilal telling us about how much he hated history," Ethan commented as he recalled the first time they met him when they'd been nine-teen-year-old teenagers.

"Bilal loves history. He hates the book here because it's so outdated," Ghia explained. "The last chapter we learn of Lebanese History is the Independence Day back in 1943. I guess it's because of bias the rest can't be written objectively...? I'm not sure."

"How do you know this?" Veronica addressed Allen, curiosity getting the better of her.

Allen frowned. "I think it was when I found out Bilal's from Lebanon, but I'm not sure. I was just interested."

Veronica's eyebrows shot up when she felt a flutter in her chest, hating the effect his brains had on her hormones. She shot her head back to see Danielle had already jumped down the water, followed by Ethan who only dipped his feet.

"The water is so cold!" Her teeth clasped and Ghia laughed. She angled her head to listen to what the elder man was saying. She told her the water was clean, she could drink from it as well, a suggestion Danielle happily complied.

"Let's go eat ice cream, now!" Ghia clapped her hands and kept talking as they walked back to the car. "I would've taken you to hike in Bkassine. The pine forest is so beautiful. But Bilal's there and the odds of crossing path is pretty great. I'm paranoid now." She chuckled, checking the time only to realize it was almost six. "We'll get ice cream and then the cake. Are you guys still able to walk?" She asked as she closed the door, rolling down the windows as the temperature started to drop with the sun slowly disappearing.

"Sure!" Danielle exclaimed, adjusting a towel on the seat so she wouldn't wet the car. She turned to glance at Veronica, who'd been clutching her stomach. "Are you good?" She asked in a whisper and Veronica nodded quickly, waving.

"Yeah, I took two Advil pills, I'm alright."

"Okay, just keep a few pills cause I might use it as Bilal's birthday gift at that point," Danielle joked and Chloe rolled her eyes.

The sky plunged into a deep shade of red before night swallowed the atmosphere and stars scattered around the sky. The streetlamps illuminated the small town and the group walked on the yellow brick-paved streets in silence, eating the 'Booza' they got from a place called Bachir, famous for making the best ice cream in town.

"My friend's mom makes the best cakes," Ghia enthusiastically talked. Chloe was surprised at the stark difference between her and Bilal. He was her complete opposite - while she seemed wild and a little untamed, he was always mute, almost tailored. "Bilal likes her vanilla cake so in case any of you has a problem with vanilla, mom's baking a chocolate one."

"Bilal's a vanilla guy?" Chloe couldn't but voice and Ghia laughed.

"I know, right?"

They stopped by a rusty steel door, its dark green color fading with age. Ghia knocked and patiently waited before the door was pushed open by a woman who looked Ghia's age. The sharp squealing of the girls confirmed to the group they were close and they stood idly by as the two exchanged greetings in their language, talking on top of one another and repeating the act once a second and a third woman emerged outside.

"Hello!" The girls greeted, their smiles faltering only the slightest once they reached Veronica's tired smile and Chloe's cold one.

The group already knew that Chloe was thought to be intimidating by people who just got to meet her. She was immaculate in her looks and the energy she exuded was guarded and edging on unintentional condescension. Her gaze was intense, always cold and judgmental, enough to make people feel like a speck of dust she could flick with a finger.

It wasn't a surprise to have the people Ghia introduced them to either shift in unease around her or reciprocate with venom hiding behind their smiles. But Chloe didn't seem to notice. When it came to pleasantries, she would detach herself if the situation didn't call for flattery - which only did whenever she needed something.

Chloe winced when Danielle pinched her elbow. "What?"

"Smile." Danielle kept the beam on her face as she spoke discreetly through her teeth, and Chloe looked at her in confusion.

Danielle was her complete opposite, a bundle of energy radiating warmth. While Veronica was a bit of both, bubbly and approaching a minute and guarded and unreadable the next.

"I am smiling."

"No - you're judging."

Chloe rolled her eyes and turned back to them, eyebrows slowly sliding up when a fourth one appeared. Her first instinct was to compliment her jacket; it was an emerald-blue satin trench coat, cascading to just below her knees. An effortless smile curled her lips and she was right about to speak before the woman beat her to it.

"Hello." She offered a hand to shake to each member. "Nice to meet you, my name's Mona." She ushered at herself, her voice surprisingly soothing. "Are you Bilal's friends from college?" She politely asked.

Ethan smiled, ushering at Allen. "We were."

"You know him from high school?" Allen asked, carrying the conversation out of social cue, but his brows lightly pulled together when Mona's smile faltered.

"You can say that." She shrugged, posture a little stiff despite her smile. "We were sort of a thing, but that's way back."

"Oh." Ethan nodded and paused, eyes widening a fraction. "Oh."

Allen shot him a look as he lacked all kinds of subtlety.

Chloe caught it and her smile dropped, eyes sharp as she studied her with a new perspective now while she conversed with the two men, Ghia catching up with her three other friends. She felt her sister's touch shadow her elbow and was quick to warn.

"You pinch me, and I'm cutting off that finger," she hissed, and Danielle froze.

"Jesus."

Veronica snorted. "Don't do that, now that she's gay, she's gonna need that finger."

"I'm bi. And alright, bloody Mary - cool it," Danielle countered.

Veronica's eyebrows scrunched as she didn't get it at first. "Bloody Mar- Oh. Ha!"

Their argument was interrupted once Mona's mom peered at them through the door, gasping and scolding her daughter for keeping everybody outside in the chilling air.

Chloe almost rolled her eyes at the thought they got a cake baked from his ex-girlfriend's mother. Fantastic.

"Come in! Come in!" She exclaimed and Ghia hurried to explain they were going to be late and Bilal was probably home now. The group was amazed how they could catch a word from the other when they replied in such a fast manner and loudly talked over one another, ending the argument with tight hugs and splotchy kisses on the cheeks.

"You knew about Mona?" Ghia blurted once they were out of earshot and Chloe was surprised to find someone worse than her sister when it came to filters - but she wasn't complaining now.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Ethan sheepishly shrugged.

"Oh, that's okay." Ghia waved. "I'm just asking because I'm curious."

"They don't see each other when he visits?" He asked, the group growing quiet as they listened in to their conversation.

"Well, not that often. They see each other probably every three to four years and out of coincidence. It's still a little weird when they do. We all thought at some point they'll get married. I mean, they were young but so were we." She shrugged with a smile as if to emphasize how silly they used to be. "I think on some level Mona's hoping they work it out in the future. But I don't know about Bilal, he's my brother but he doesn't tell me anything. He doesn't tell anyone anything." She looked at Ethan and tilted her head. "You got any idea?"

Ethan snorted. "Sorry. The last time he mentioned her was years ago when we were in college."

"Mhm." Ghia shrugged, dropping the issue.

It was ten past seven when they arrived back to the house and were startled by the sound of loud yelling the moment they got out of the car.

"Is everything alright?" Danielle felt her pulse take off in bewilderment, her eyes wide as her fingers clasped around Chloe's wrist out of habit.

"Oh yeah." Ghia laughed, waving a dismissive hand as she peered down the garden from the parking lot that was directly above, guarded by fences. "They're most likely playing cards. Shit gets serious."

She suddenly twisted around to face them. "I'm sorry, before I forget. My family's a bit diverse, religion, and sects wise." She faced the girls. "Some of the men don't shake hands. I'll tell you who you can and can't shake hands with, even though they'll let you know by apologizing and putting their hand to their chest. Don't be embarrassed when it happens, the last thing they want is to come off as rude. This happened to me on so many occasions, you become immune." She laughed and turned to Allen and Ethan. "You're good as long as you don't shake hands with the women wearing Hijab."

The group nodded, moving a little closer to take a peek at what was happening. A gathering of people was separated into a few groups and spread around the garden, with people smoking shisha and others eating from the table of food mostly containing salty pastries and drinks. The predominant group, however, was around the plastic table where, as Ghia mentioned, the men and one woman were playing cards.

They were right on time to witness Bilal right in their line of vision, almost in tears, as he howled with laughter, clutching his stomach while his uncle yelled at him for being a brat. He couldn't handle himself, laughing even louder when they all kicked him out of the game, furiously arguing and suddenly turning against each other.

He wiped tears from his face and reached across the table for the pack of cigarettes, taking one out. He turned fully to face his cousin to ask her for a lighter. Ghia was already by the rock stairs and everyone followed, except Chloe who hadn't noticed their departure. There was something she found fascinating about watching him in his element. His cousin threw one for him to catch and he turned to focus on the game, leaning back in his seat and was about to light it.

His eyes shot up out of pure coincidence and Chloe froze.

He looked back down at the cards, oblivious for a milli-second before he paused, his heart hammered against his ribcage and he jerked his chin back up in a sharp movement.

Chloe's eyes grew wide, chest tight and plummeting under his gaze, nerves spiraling out of control while Bilal stared at her, cigarette dangling from his lips, in a complete state of shock.

"Surprise!"

Chloe stumbled back at the distant sound of Ghia's excited squeal, coming back to her senses and struggling to catch her breath.

To think she had it all under control.

Chloe reached the end of the stairs, standing still as she watched the group integrate with Bilal's family with such ease that it made her slightly relax. Bilal pushed past them and made his way to where she stood, strides deliberate. Her heart was thundering in her chest, her entire body shaking the closer he got.

"I, uhm..." She trailed, realizing her voice was a mere breath and she tried to activate her vocal cords again. Her chest was heaving by the time he reached her, standing merely two feet away. She looked up to meet him. "I haven't said hello to anyone yet," was the first thing she blurted.

Bilal swallowed, stuffing his hands in his jeans pocket, standing straighter. "Okay."

The air around them tensed, stretched so tight it made Chloe's throat feel clogged.

"I don't know whose hand to shake."

He nodded. "Right."

His eyes roamed her face, searching, meeting her eyes and they moved back and forth between hers. She realized her breathing became erratic and she sealed her lips, breathing through her nose in an attempt to calm down. She didn't know why she felt so uncomfortable, so out of her body. She'd seen him almost every day for the past five years and yet it felt like she was allowed to see him now, in a clearer, different light.

Her thoughts were running wild. Did he remember? Was he too drunk? How should she act?

Before she could stop herself, she took a swift step forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. Bilal froze, and it took seconds for a hot liquid to plunge into his bloodstream.

"Happy birthday," she said against the shell of his ear, his stubble tickling her cheek, her hands resting on the back of his shoulders. He circled his arms around her waist, inhaling her perfume, and right as he got used to her touch - she pulled away.

They cut the cake and sang the Happy Birthday song in three languages: English, Arabic, French - in that order. Every time the group moved on, they'd start singing again and Bilal had been awkwardly standing behind the cake with a tight smile that made Danielle laugh to tears as she took a video.

An hour later, Ghia and her cousin were teaching Veronica and Chloe the bad words, Danielle was talking to a woman who looked her age, and she was ninety-nine percent sure was gay, while Ethan and Allen tried tasting the shisha and almost immediately started coughing and wheezing. Bilal took a whiff of one, smoke blowing out of his nose in small bursts as he laughed.

It was until Bilal suggested they get on the road that they bid their goodbyes to his entire family, leveling their loud and enthusiastic farewell.

Ghia needed to meet her friends and tagged along.

"I know the place, I'll drive," she said.

Allen's eyes snapped wide open. "Fuck, no."

Bilal snorted as it dawned on him he could be traumatized by now for sure.

They were seven now and could barely fit in the back of the Cayenne without crushing one another, and Ghia suggested two can fit in the trunk. Danielle didn't have to be told twice, and Veronica followed so they could lie in peace with the trunk cracked open to make it an even better ride.

They parked the car in front of the group of girls they met earlier when getting the cake, and to Chloe's dread, Mona was there too.

Mona looked over at the car, and once Ghia turned the lights off, her entire demeanor changed when she saw Bilal was sitting on the passenger seat. He blinked up to meet her gaze, while Ghia turned fully back to bid her farewell to the group.

"I hope you enjoyed today! I had so much fun with you guys." She beamed and they all answered with loud thank you's and goodbye's, except for Chloe, who fell deathly silent as she studied Bilal's profile carefully.

She realized just how self-centered she had been throughout this whole thing. It had never occurred to her to think about Bilal's past relationships.

Ghia turned to face her brother, who gave her a look to which she shrugged sheepishly, getting out of the car, knowing he was about to follow.

"Sooo..." Danielle trailed with a wicked grin and Bilal heaved a sigh. "You gonna spill us the tea?" Veronica rolled her eyes at her cousin, and Bilal arched an eyebrow, pushing his door open. "Wait! You're always making fun of my boyfriends, I want to make fun of yours," she whined.

"There's nothing to make fun of." He rolled his eyes as he got out of the car.

Chloe watched his dark figure walk over to them and Mona met him halfway, pulling him down in a hug. She had never felt the dark feeling of possessiveness crawl her gut. Not even for Aiden - only out of obligation did she lecture him about flirting with other women, because it made her feel like an idiot who couldn't keep her man at arm's length. But this, this wasn't about embarrassment or necessity. It was impulsive and intense, and bewildering.

Ethan hopped to the passenger seat and Veronica got off the trunk to move to the back seat with the comfortable cushions as her butt hurt, while Danielle refused to move, arms around Chloe's headrest as she watched with the rest outside.

"They seem fine," Veronica commented. "Why did they break up?" Chloe's ears prickled, slightly grateful she was asking the questions she herself craved the answers to.

Ethan shrugged. "They agreed long distance didn't work. It's been eight years since they broke up."

"Eight years? Damn, it looks like it's still a little awkward," Danielle said as Bilal stuffed his hands in his pocket, nodding with a small smile curving his lips, while Mona was shifting in unease, eyes squinting as she shyly looked up at him.

"They were each other's firsts."

"First what?" Chloe couldn't stop herself from asking, feeling her heart skip a beat.

"I don't know, everything? Love, probably sex." Ethan shrugged, oblivious to Chloe's growing uneasiness. "They've been friends for a long time and then were in a relationship for three years."

It pulled at her gut. Many people who break up with their first love for no reason other than bad timing would usually make it work at a later time. The thought slid to the front of her mind and it filled her nerves with dread as she watched him hug her again, and then hugging Ghia as well and walking back to the car, not one word about the issue spoken again.