MAVERICK

Shock was an understatement. And here I thought maybe he genuinely didn’t know my birthday. Then here we were, my friends were having fun, and even my grandmother was with me on my special day.

When Nana got sick, I stopped celebrating my birthday. I thought, what’s the point? I only have a few people who are constants in my life. I was always grateful for another year, but that was it—no celebration.

I watched my friends sing on the Karaoke with amusement. Genesis, though, had a golden voice. There was supposed to be a live band today, but somehow, Lake managed to book the entire bar for the...