Fig's 33rd Birthday Party

Before I tell you all about the birthday party, I think I should start filling in the blanks about me and Fig. I'll start by telling you the basics about myself. My name is Danielle Marie Lyons. I was born on March 15th, 1983 in Bartow, Florida. I moved to Tampa in 2003 when I was 20 years old. I got married to Kenan Rosenbaum in 2005 at the age of 22. At the age of 24, in 2007 we had a son, named Seth. Kenan and I divorced in 2011, and agreed that I would keep custody of Seth so long as I didn't request child support. I didn't want to fight about money because the year before our divorce my father had passed away and left me a trust fund to live off for the rest of my life. I guess my father knew that my little waitressing jobs were not going to be enough to raise my son with. I don't get much every month, but at least I have a stable income.

Now let me tell you about Fig and you'll see that we have a lot in common. Anabel Figness Marcella was born on September 11th, 1991 in Brooklyn, New York. She moved to Tampa in 2007 at the age of 16 with her mother and father. Her father passed away a year later, leaving her mother a house and income. Her mother refinanced the house and blew through the money, then drank herself to death by the time Fig was turning 24. Fig married Stefano Calderola in 2016. She gave birth to her son Mario the next year, then two years later gave birth to her daughter Anya. In 2020, Stefano disappeared and no one knows what happened to him. Since Fig didn't have a steady job or income, her mother's brother (Fig's uncle) bought a house in Tampa and helped her raise Mario and Anya there.

Catching you up on some other information, today is September 11th, 2024, Fig's 33rd birthday. Seth is 17 years old and went to live with Kenan in Colorado for his last year of high school. Mario is 7, and Anya is 5. Fig's uncle (Georgio) wants to sell the house and move back to Virginia, so Fig is very worried, not knowing where she and her two kids are going to live once he does that. She doesn't want to move to Virginia as her kids are already in school here in Florida.

Today has been hectic for me. I had to go to Outback Steakhouse and set up the reserved table. Luckily, Dee showed up and helped me and stayed at the restaurant to welcome those invited as they arrived, while I went back to pick Fig up.

On a Wednesday afternoon, Outback Steakhouse wasn't that busy so that was good. The weather wasn't a problem either. I drove safely and arrived to pick Fig up at around 3:30 p.m. She looked so beautiful! She had curled her blonde locks in a way that I had never seen before. The curls rolled so delicately to the tops of her shoulders. She had done her make-up in a different way, accentuating her sparkling blue eyes. She wore a long cotton summer dress with a pastel floral print on it and it really complimented her short frame and mama hips. She was waiting on the front porch when I pulled up, and she quickly sat in the passenger's seat.

"I'm starving," she said as her greeting.

"You'll be eating soon," I told her as I backed out of the driveway. "You look absolutely amazing."

"Thanks," she said, "I figured since you're taking me to my favorite restaurant, I should emphasize the memory with a good look. You look great too. Where'd you get that outfit?"

I smiled happy that she was pleased with my appearance. I was wearing my silky maroon jumper, no make-up, and I had a matching beret on my head to cover my latest haircut.

"Oh, this old thing," I teased, "I can't remember. It's been in the closet for centuries."

Then Fig noticed my hat and hair situation.

"What the frick did you do?" she asked flabbergasted, pulling the beret off my head and seeing that I had shaved my head to almost no hair.

"Oh don't get so upset," I told her, "Dee has cancer and she's been going through chemotherapy."

"So what did you catch cancer from her?" Fig said sarcastically handing me back the beret.

"No," I said, "Ha Ha, very funny. No, I just shaved it because it's too hot for me, I'm not good at hairstyling like you, and I wanted Dee to feel like hairless is in vogue."

"You're so weird," was all that Fig said as she lit a cigarette and flicked the ashes out of the window.

"Me?" I said, "Don't you have anything else to say about Dee's condition?"

"I didn't know she had cancer," Fig said defensively, "That sucks. Let me process it, would you? I haven't seen her all year."

I didn't say anything else, so Fig turned on the radio and we listened to "With or Without You" by U2 as I drove to the restaurant.

Everything was going well with the surprise. Fig had no idea that a party was awaiting her. I parked my car and Fig and I went into Outback Steakhouse and the hostess recognized me and led us to the back reserved table where Fig's party was all set up. Fig's face lit up in surprise and she smiled as our shared friends made a racket yelling "SURPRISE!" Fig's cheeks turned pink. She really had no idea.

Besides Dee, six others had come to celebrate and join the birthday party: Roshelle, Patricia, Maxine and her boyfriend Freddie, Lillian, and Helen. Poor Freddie was the only guy there, but he didn't seem to mind all the girly girl chatter. There were lots of gift boxes on the table and after we ate dinner and sang "Happy Birthday" to Fig, she began opening them.

Fig had a great time. Dee was perfect as the stand up comedian. She had us all laughing whenever an uncomfortable silence interrupted the flow of the party.

When it was time to wrap it up and go home, Fig thanked everyone sincerely especially me. Though she still didn't know what was going to happen after her Uncle sold the house, at least today was a good day.