Just for This Year

Chapter Nineteen

October 5th
Saturday

27 Days Before

"Happy birthday!"

Lila smiled at the sound of her mother's voice as she lazily walked down the stairs. She lit up at the sight of the kitchen table. Lorena made her with heart shaped waffles and orange juice. It had been tradition since they were younger for their mother to make them a special breakfast. All the siblings had different shaped waffles that their mother would make them. She saw Sam's pumpkin shaped waffles next to her own. How Lorena managed to make different shapes waffles, she would never understand. But she never asked, she liked how it felt like a touch of magic.

"Thank you," Lila said happily as she sat down, pulling at her plaid sleep shorts. She picked up the small glass pitcher of maple syrup, pouring a bit onto her waffles. She took the can of whipped cream and put a bit on the side to dip into. In addition to the waffles, there was some bacon and fruit, which she helped herself to.

While she loved these special traditions, she couldn't help but feel sad by them. She knew that they were coming to an end. When she goes off to college, she wouldn't ever truly live at home again. It would always feel like a rest stop to a new location. The days of extravagant family birthdays and heart shaped waffles were coming to an end, and she didn't think she was ready for that.

She always wished she could just live in the moment, but she just didn't operate like that. Happy moments only made her dread when they would be over. She would get sad thinking about how it would feel when it was all gone. She already considered this to be a far away memory for herself, despite it happening right now.

"Your siblings are coming at around two o'clock, did you invite Estelle?" Lorena asked as she rinsed the dishes in the sink.

Lila took a bite of her waffle as she nodded. "She'll come over at, like, around three, I think. The soccer team has a practice this afternoon."

Lorena nodded, walking over to the table. "Do you miss it at all?

Lila thought for a moment, pausing from her meal. She pondered the question before realizing that she didn't feel any regret about her decision. "No, actually, I don't think I do."

Her mother smiled happily, looking very proud of her, which made Lila even more sure of herself. "Eighteen," Lorena said wistfully to herself, running her hand down Lila's hair fondly, "where as the time gone?"

"You say that every year, Mom," Lila laughed out, plopping another bite into her mouth.

Lorena sighed, placing her hand on her hip. "Well, it feels like just yesterday that I held you both in the hospital."

"Were you surprised when you found out you were having twins? Or did your freaky mother's intuition kick in and tell you?" Lila asked curiously, realizing she never asked many questions about her birth before. Her mother paused for a second in thought but before she could answer, a noise interrupted them.

The sound of footsteps running filled Lila's ears and she knew instantly it was her brother. Sam came barreling down the stairs, eyes locked on his waffles. He shook his fist excitedly, sitting down without saying a word. He instantly grabbing the maple syrup and whipped cream, one in each hand. Lorena and Lila watched in utter horror as he used both hands to drench his waffles in the toppings, eventually making the waffles completely disappear.

Sam looked incredibly focused on his meal as he then grabbed the bacon, crumbling it into his hands and sprinkling it on top of the pile. Lila scrunched her face up and bit back a gag, trying to just focus on her own meal.