115. We Love You 🥳

It was hard getting out of A.B.'s car, but as soon as he said, "Jamie, get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow," I made sure to tell him this. "No, I'll see you tomorrow."

He chuckled, "Doesn't matter who says it as long as we both know that we'll see each other tomorrow."

"As long as you know that I told you that I'll see you tomorrow." I really wasn't trying to end our conversation.

A.B. added, "Remember I made more plans for your birthday."

"That's right. Bye!" I quickly got out his car and went to my room. I gotta get some rest so that I'm wide awake for part two of my birthday surprise.

The first thing I did after waking up was thank God for waking me up. It's my birthday, and A.B. has more to give me. I went to the bathroom, showered, washed my hair, brushed my teeth, washed my face, and began getting ready for the day.

Once my hair was dry, I decided to put it in a high bun with two curly strands in front. Then, I left the bathroom and checked my phone to see if anyone had called or texted. And sure enough I had about four missed calls and several text messages from people wishing me a Happy Birthday.

I returned my parents' call first.

"Happy birthday to you," my parents sang to me.

When they finished, I thanked them.

"We hope you have a wonderful birthday," my step-dad told me. "We love you, baby girl."

"I love you, too. I really wish I could spend the day with you."

My mom said, "So do we. We were gonna surprise you when you got the chance to visit us, but we don't know when that will be."

I sat on my bed, waiting for my mom to fill me in.

"Your dad is now retired."

"Really?!" I screeched with zeal. "Oh, my goodness, y'all! For real? Daddy, I'm so glad you don't have to work anymore."

"Me, too. All thanks to you, Princess. Even if you didn't give us money, baby, I just want you to know how proud of you I am. We both are," he told me.

I nodded my head. "Don't make me cry, right now. If singing can help y'all in anyway, I'll do music for the rest of my life."

"Only if it makes you happy," my step-dad said.

"I love y'all."

"We love you, Jamie," my mom said, "Now, go on and celebrate your birthday with your friends in California, and tell Jace we said hi."

How could I forget that my parents and A.B. were close?

I smiled, "I'll tell him."

"Okay. Bye, Jamie! Happy birthday!"

I chuckled, "Thank you! Bye-bye!" I ended the call with my parents.

The next call I returned, I was happy to see.

"Jamie!" Larry called my name.

I chuckled, "Hey, Larry! How are you?"

He said, "Happy New Year! I called you, because I wanted to thank you one more time for jumping on my record. Also, it just made it to the radio."

"What?!" I exclaimed. "Are you serious, Larry?"

"I'm serious. I did very early morning interviews with about three radio stations already, and they all played my song. When I told them that you were featured on it, that was it."

I clapped my hands. "Larry, I'm so excited for you. Congratulations!"

"Thank you. Thank you. Oh, before I forget - Happy Birthday! One of the radio stations were playing your music for your birthday. I'm mad that I never knew it was your birthday on January 2nd."

"That's because Music Bravos was always closed between December 31st and January 2nd. Originally, Mr. Dave would open back up on the 2nd, but when he found out it was my birthday, he added one more day."

"Man, Mr. Dave was a great boss. I'm going back to East Grove next week, and I plan to see him. I hope he's doing better after what happened to him."

I agreed, "Same here. I haven't been back home in so long, I feel like I'll never get the chance to go back."

"Are you staying in L.A. for good?" Larry asked me.

"Oh, no! Honestly, I don't think I ever wanted to live here permanently. It's just not my scene."

Larry added, "I get'cha. Yo, I saw what happened at that party between you and Aja Frost. That was messed up what she did. Jamie, you like a little sister to me even though you're older than me. I want you to know that I'll never work with Aja Frost. My loyalty is to you."

"I appreciate you, Larry."

"Bet. But if you don't know the lyrics to my song, you better start learning it, because I'm gonna perform it soon. And Jamie, it would be amazing if you could perform it with me whenever I go on stage, but only for the first time."

I told him, "You have my word. Just let me 24 hours in advanced."

"You a real one, Jamie. Listen, I'm gonna let you go. I hope you have a good time. Happy birthday, big sister."

I smiled, "Thanks, Larry! Bye!"

Then, I called Deonte. I put the phone back to my ear while it rang.

"Happy birthday, Jae!" That was not the voice of Deonte Way.

I chuckled, "Thank you... Umm, who is this?"

"It's Deana! Your number one fan!"

I should've known. "Hey, Chanel! Thank you!"

"You're welcome! I told my dumb brother to give me your phone number, but he never did. I'm using his phone now."

"Gotcha. So what are your plans for the day?" I stood up and walked over to my closet to pick out my clothes. Chanel continued to talk about everything under the sun.

A few minutes later, I heard Deonte say, "Get off my phone, little girl."

I immediately laughed as I put the phone on speaker and got dressed.

"Jae, I have your phone number now. My brother wants his phone back, but I'll call you later."

"Okay, Chanel. Thank you for calling me."

"Here's my brother," she told me.

I walked out my closet and went back to my bathroom to check my hair and face.

"Happy birthday, beautiful!" Deonte shouted.

I laughed, "Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome. Tell me how does it feel to be a year older but look five years younger?"

I playfully rolled my eyes. "I wouldn't know about that, but my body feels older for sure."

"I know a cure for that. It's call the gym even though you don't need it unless you're trying to gain muscle."

I smiled, "My gut says otherwise."

"Don't worry. I'm a man that appreciates gut. Anyway, Cha-Cha is throwing down in the kitchen for you. So lunch is on us. Either I can pick you up or you can come over."

I looked at the time on my phone. "A.B. is back, and he has made plans for me. So, I'm gonna see if we can come over. What am I saying? Not 'if' but when we can come over."

Deonte lightly laughed, "I thought you had lost your tastebuds before you made that correction."

We both laughed.

"Facts. I would be crazy to not eat Cha-Cha's food."

"Also," Deonte lowered his voice, "Don't worry about Chanel calling you. I'm gonna change your number in her phone. And I'd suggest you get a second phone for business calls."

Smart. "I should've done that a long time ago."

Deonte said, "Well, I'll see you later, and I hope you have a great birthday, Jamie."

"Thank you, Deonte," I told him.

"Bye, beautiful."

"Bye."

Finally, my look was complete. I wore a lavender, sheer blouse with a white spaghetti strap underneath with a long denim skirt, and white closed toe heels. Before I could call A.B., Monica was playing beatmaker on my bedroom door with her fist and knuckles as she rapped "Happy Birthday" to me.

I quickly opened the door, but she continued.

"Alright, alright. Thank you, cousin. Thank you so much."

She hugged me. "I can't believe my cousin is 30 years old. Girl, you looked blessed and highly favored. God is good to His children. I should know."

I side-eyed her as she held out her left hand, looking at her mega diamond ring.

I obnoxiously cleared my throat.

"Sorry. I got distracted by the love on my finger."

"I'm sure you did," I stated.

Monica clasped her hands together. "I had a feeling you were going to be up early and spend about three hours getting yourself together. So, we're gonna go to a cute, little brunch spot on the ocean. Then, we're gonna go to a photography studio to get throwback pictures taken to remember this pivotal point in our lives."

"Cousin, all of that sounds great, but A.B. already made plans for--"

She interrupted me, "I know. I told him that he can do that stuff with you tomorrow since he's not going back to East Grove anytime soon."

I opened my mouth, but no words followed.

Monica giggled, "I didn't say it in a rude way, but I did tell him that me and you would hang out, and he could join us later or do other things with you tomorrow."

I folded my arms. "Cousin, I love you, but I really planned to spend my birthday with A.B."

"Your unclaimed man?" Monica shook her head. "Oh, no. Besides, he already agreed to my arrangements. And we gotta leave now."

I went back to my bed to pick up my phone. It vibrated. When I saw A.B.'s name, I answered it.

"Happy birthday, pretty lady. I was scolded by Monica to move our plans to tomorrow. I hope you two have a good time."

"A.B., don't listen to her. We can still hangout." I whispered, "Hurry up and come get me."

Monica yanked the phone from me. "A.B., I told you not to call her. Did I not?"

My brows furrowed, "Monica, that's not nice."

She smiled at me. "That's how you gotta talk to some people... Bye, A.B."

I quickly took the phone from her. "A.B., ignore her."

He was laughing. "She did tell me not to call, but I'd never not call you on your birthday, Jamie. I'll see you later. Have fun."

"Okay," I sadly told him before hanging up.

"Wipe that look off your face. We're about to have some fun!"

And she was absolutely right. A driver took us to this nice brunch restaurant that overlooked the ocean. The food and the scenery were wonderful. From there, we went to a photography studio and with a 2000s airbrushed backdrop, a few props and clownery, we stepped back in time to pose for the camera. The pictures came out amazing, and the longer I looked at them, the more Monica and I looked alike. I guess I never wanted to admit our resemblance. We are family after all. Afterwards, the driver took us to Deonte's condo.

I asked Monica, "Did you talk to Deonte?"

"No. Why?"

She was hiding something. She answered that way too fast.

Once inside the building, we got on the elevator. It was at that moment when I realized I wasn't wearing my sunglasses or a hat. The elevator door opened and we walked onto the hall.

"Monica, do you have some sunglasses I can wear?" I asked her.

"Girl, no. Cha-Cha and Deonte know what you look like, anyway."

"What if there's more people here?"

"Girl, ain't nobody coming to see you, Otis," she hissed at me.

I was in between panic and laughter, but Cha-Cha opened her apartment door. "Hey, ladies! Come on in!"

We walked inside and before I could put all the pieces together. Everyone sang Happy Birthday to me. Everyone as in Deonte, Cha-Cha, Chanel, Zeke, A.B., and Monica.

When they finished, I shouted, "Why did y'all do this to me?!"

"Because we love you!" They shouted back.

My heart was filled with joy.