The guitarist finish playing whatever it is they are playing, and start playing the birthday song. I glance at Shane, and her eyes widen comically, then quickly dart around, as if hoping that none of us are looking at her. When she sees that we’re all grinning, she puts her head in her hands. Kit comes out of the kitchen with a cake shaped like a pair of *****, all lit up with twenty-seven candles. The baffled look on Shane’s face is priceless, and it gives me joy to see her happy. It also gives me great amusement, because she is blushing ten distinct shades of red, something I never thought I would see.

She laughs when she sees the cake, but then I see tears in her eyes. My friends and I do stuff like that every year. I’m not sure what the big deal is.

“Hey Kit, are your ***** chocolate or vanilla?” Dana says.

Kit stops moving the cake server and just stares at Dana. “Girl, please. What do you think?”

Everyone laughs and Shane seems relieved not to be the center of attention. Am I the only one who notices these things, I wonder? Dana and Alice are looking at each other. Tonya isn’t there. Bette and Jenny are looking at the boobie cake. And Tina is looking at Bette.

“Shane’s the birthday girl,” Jenny says. “She gets the nipple.”

“Yes!” Shane grins like a kid, holding her hands up in the air, and we all laugh.

That day is as close to perfect as any I’ve ever had. Perfect weather, perfect company. After brunch we all pile in my car and Bette’s convertable and go to the beach. We spend the day there just hanging out, watching the girls walk by, swimming and joking around like children. I feel like I’m back in middle school.

Alice has brought a giant raft, and Shane has hijacked it from the rest of us. The others are fine with this, and they hang out on the shore.

The waves are breaking high today, and I wade out through the worst of them, buffeted by the oncoming surges and following undertow. Once I pass the breaking point, I swim out to her.