Birthday Trip

a short story

A little short story for the paid subscribers this month! :)

Birthday Trip
by Shea Stanley

Between sounds of the zipper smushing down worn clothes and the tinny music from her phone speaker, Mona hears the muffled sounds of laughter from another room. The cadence of a joke, the shape of banter, floats into her ears without its true contents, but still warms her like the scent of cookies baking downstairs. These people she loves and these people she only likes — but could love, if they stick around (and she thinks they will) — this mix of people who have gathered in this vacation house because of her, because she knows them, they are exchanging numbers, making plans to meet again. And suddenly, hearing this, her feet feel more firmly planted. She feels much more certain that her toes will leave a dent in this carpet because she is now almost sure she really exists.