Saturday arrived, and Lucy could barely wait to step into the rehearsal room.
The band had properly prepared for her birthday. Balloons floated inside, and colorful signs on the walls by the door made it clear whose party it was today.
Lucy was completely delighted. They brought her a small chair so she could sit down, then Alice placed a pair of earmuffs over her ears, and Pinky started counting in.
Justin launched into a sexy riff, Pinky hit the cymbals, and Alice began singing the song she had written for her sister.
Even though their audience wasn't very large, they were a massive hit, and Lucy clapped for a long time, smiling happily.
Then the gifts came out too. She was handed two wrapped boxes and immediately started unwrapping them.
She started with the smaller one, and inside she found two Barbie dolls, but they had been completely customized.
One had long black hair, its eyes were painted with makeup around them, and it even wore a black jacket—clearly resembling her sister.
The other had pink hair and came with two tiny drumsticks. Lucy had always loved Pinky's hair, so she liked this doll a lot too.
She thanked them for the gifts, then unwrapped the bigger box as well.
Inside was a dark jacket, which she immediately put on.
— Now that looks really good on you, little girl. — Justin remarked.
— This… this is that jacket?
— Yeah, the one you picked out. — Alice replied.
— But then it must've been really expensive.
— Oh, don't worry about that, we all pitched in as a band. And we got a gig too—money's gonna be rolling in, you'll see.
— Our number one fan definitely deserves a cool jacket like this. — Justin said.
Lucy hugged everyone, truly grateful for the gifts.
***
While inside the rehearsal room Pinky was teaching Lucy how to drum, Alice, Justin, and Cornel were outside smoking.
— Thanks again, guys. I'll pay you back for the jacket once my paycheck comes in.
— Oh come on, forget it. — Cornel said.
— I don't need the money either, and I'm sure Pinky would refuse too. We love your sister—she really deserves this much.
Alice just smiled, leaning against the wall as she exhaled smoke.
She patted both of their shoulders, then went back into the rehearsal room.
Lucy was enthusiastically pounding the snare, and it looked like she was putting the rhythm together pretty well.
Alice quickly grabbed Cornel's guitar and started playing something on it.
Justin and Cornel came in from outside too, picked up guitars, and a simple little song began to form.
Lucy could keep the rhythm surprisingly well—it seemed like she had a knack for it, and Pinky praised her for it.
Lucy couldn't imagine a better birthday than this.
***
After the party, Alice and her sister went home.
It was already past nine, so Lucy was a little sleepy—she usually wasn't awake this late.
Alice walked her to the bathroom so she could shower before bed, but their dad was asleep on the toilet seat, and an entire bottle of cheap liquor had spilled on the floor.
— Listen, my princess, go to your room and get your pajamas and the rest, okay? I'll take care of this.
Lucy looked at her sister a little sadly.
— I'm not going to yell at him, okay? Just go.
Lucy nodded and hurried off to her room, her gift dolls in her hands.
Alice poured the remaining liquor from the bottom of the bottle into the bathtub, then wiped up what had spilled.
After that, she started trying to wake their father, who slowly, with great difficulty, came out of his drunken sleep.
She pulled him off the toilet and guided him to his room—he didn't even seem to know where he was and almost walked straight into the wall.
She basically shoved him into bed, then shut the door. She didn't want to see him like that—she didn't even want to remember him.
Then she flushed the toilet, cleaned it, and finally Lucy could take her shower.
***
The next morning, Alice was in the kitchen sipping coffee when her father appeared.
He looked terrible. Some kind of grime was stuck in his greasy hair, and his clothes hung off his scrawny body.
He sat down across from Alice, holding his head in pain.
Alice shoved a mug of hot coffee in front of him. He managed to grab the handle and started sipping.
— Do you know what day it was yesterday? — she asked, holding back her anger, her voice calm.
— Well… Saturday, right? — he rubbed his forehead with one hand and squinted at Alice.
— Your daughter's birthday. My sister's birthday. The least you could've done was not make her see how fucking disgusting you are, but you couldn't even manage to pass out in your own room.
— I'm sorry… I don't remember anything.
— Yeah, I've noticed you never remember anything—and you don't want to, either. You don't even try.
— Listen, I'll pull myself together a bit and then I'll take Lucy to the toy store, okay?
— No, you're not taking her anywhere in that junker. That car is dangerous, and you're still drunk anyway—I can see it.
— Fine, then I'll go by bus… I'll get her some cake too.
Alice stood up from the table, rinsed her mug, and looked at her father with cold indifference.
— She doesn't need anything from you.
— No… I'm not letting her down. I'm getting her something.
— Yeah, and are you going to the toy store before or after the bar? I'm only not yelling because I promised her, but I still fucking hate you.
With that, Alice left the kitchen, while her father stayed silent, continuing to sip his coffee.
***
Late in the afternoon, Lucy was adjusting her new jacket in front of the mirror when Alice came into her room.
— You look pretty, princess. Ready to go? The bus will be here any minute.
— Aren't we waiting for Dad? He usually comes with us.
— I think he went to get you a present, so it's just the two of us today.
— Really? — Lucy asked excitedly.
— Yeah. By the time we get back, there might already be something waiting for you in a bag.
— Dad really should learn how to wrap gifts. Don't you want to teach him?
— I think I already do enough things for him.
They headed out onto the street, then sat down on the bench at the nearby bus stop and waited.
It arrived quickly and took them to the edge of the city—to the cemetery.
From the vendor in front of the cemetery, Alice bought some beautiful roses and gave one to her sister.
Lucy skipped along the path between the gravestones.
Alice watched her little sister, gripping her roses tightly. She didn't like the cemetery—it wasn't tied to many good memories.
Lucy had already placed the rose in front of a headstone and was speaking softly to it.
Alice walked over too. She heard her sister talking to the headstone about her jacket, and about how well she'd been able to drum yesterday.
— Aren't you going to say anything to Mom? — Lucy asked.
Alice set down the roses and grew somber for a moment, then looked at her little sister and smiled at her.
— Well… I don't even know what I could say to her. That my job sucks?
— Hey! Watch your mouth!
— Fair. Sorry. — she turned to her mother's headstone, thinking about what she could say. — So, hi Mom… Guess what. Our band got its first gig. At the Crow's Nest, the place you and Dad used to go to a lot. Not bad, right?
The smile froze on Alice's face. Suddenly she saw flames, heard a scream, and felt pain. Her hand trembled as panic flooded her.
Lucy saw how tense she was, took her hand, and started stroking it.
It had a calming effect on Alice. Minutes later, she didn't feel quite as terrible.
When Lucy saw her sister was better, she told a few more things at their mother's grave, and then they left.
***
Alice and her sister got home from the cemetery.
Lucy was very excited. She ran into her room to see whether their father had left her something for her birthday.
As Alice pulled her long, tall boots off her feet, she watched her little sister with a sad look, afraid their father would disappoint her again.
She was surprised when she saw Lucy taking some kind of pink plush dolphin and some money out of a gift bag.
It wasn't the best present, but Lucy was excited, as always—she really could be happy about anything.
There was cake along with the gift too: two slices wrapped up on the desk.
Lucy was just about to take a bite of one slice when Alice noticed something and rushed over so fast she even kicked some toy out of the way.
She snatched the cake from her sister's hands and stormed into the other room.
Their father was sitting in an armchair, drinking beer and staring at the TV, dazedly looking straight ahead.
Alice took the cake and shoved it in his face.
— What do you think this is?!
— What? It's a slice of cake. Doesn't Lucy like it?
— Look closer, you fucking brute! What is that on top?
— Whipped cream and—
— Hazelnut! Lucy's allergic to it, you idiot!
— Fuck… I'm sorry.
— You're sorry?! — she shouted at him loudly, the apartment echoing. — If she starts choking from it, will you be sorry then too? Do you even know how far the hospital is from here?!
— I'm sorry… I'll get another one.
Her father tried to stand up from the armchair, but got dizzy and nearly fell—he'd probably drunk a lot while they were at the cemetery.
— She doesn't need anything from you!
Lucy stood in the doorway, tearful, looking sad.
She suddenly hurried to her room, and Alice ran after her immediately so she wouldn't lock the door while there was a hazelnut cake slice on her desk nearby.
Alice managed to stop the door with her foot just in time. It hurt a little when Lucy slammed it, but she didn't care.
Luckily, Lucy didn't plan to lock it—she simply crawled into bed and pulled the blanket over herself.
Alice took the cake first and carried it with her so she could throw it into a trash bin.
Once she no longer had to worry about her sister's allergy, she went to her, sat down on the edge of the bed.
Lucy was sobbing under the blanket, not letting her sister pull it down.
— I'm sorry…
— You promised! — she burst out. — You said you wouldn't yell at him!
— I know, I know, but if you'd eaten the cake, something could've happened to you. It's unbelievable he can't even remember your allergy.
— Go away… please go out…
Alice stood up and left the room, while Lucy kept crying under her blanket, clutching the pink plush dolphin.