62. 22 (10/11/20)

Amber was drunk out of her mind. She could hardly see straight. She stumbled into the bathroom, dry-heaving into the nearest trash can. When she looked up, wiping the sweat off her brow, she saw a composed woman, a few years her senior, reapplying lip gloss in the mirror.

"How you holding up?" The woman asked, glancing at Amber before returning her lip gloss to her purse. "First time out?"

Amber nodded, leaning over the trash can again. "I turned twenty-two today."

"Good for you!" The woman said, walking towards her. She placed a supportive hand on Amber's back. "Are you here with friends?"

Amber nodded again. The woman handed her a breath mint, which she accepted. "I don't know where they are."

The woman sighed. "I'm Tanya. Why don't we freshen you up, and then get you back out on the dance floor?"

Amber nodded for the third time. The kind woman - Tanya - guided her to the sink. She grabbed a damp paper towel and cleaned up Amber's messy, sweaty face. Then she handed Amber some concealer and lip gloss.

"Thank you," Amber said. When she had finished adjusting her makeup, she handed the beauty products back to Tanya.

"No problem." Tanya rearranged the items in her purse as she talked. "I'm gonna go find us a table, order you some food and water, and maybe I'll see if the chef can make you something special for your birthday."

Amber forced a weak smile on her face. She followed Tanya out of the bathroom, and the two sat across from each other at a booth. Tanya took the reins by ordering for both of them: a tall glass of water and a salad for Amber, and a soda and cheeseburger for her. When the waiter left, Tanya followed to see if they had any special desserts for birthdays.

With Tanya gone, Amber covered her face with her hands, ashamed of herself and what she had just done. She wasn't used to drinking so much. In fact, when she had celebrated her twenty-first birthday last year, she only had one drink. She must've remembered the number of drinks wrong, believing that she could stomach more than she could. Three drinks in, and she was stumbling to the bathroom, needing to be saved by Tanya, a woman who probably wanted to be anywhere else than here.

A figure walked up to the table, and Amber assumed it was either the waiter or Tanya. Instead, when she looked up, she found her friend, Colin. He anxiously ran his fingers through his hair before sitting across from Amber.

"Are you okay?" He asked. "I haven't seen you in a while. And you look...really pale."

"I'm okay now." Amber tried not to sound angry, but her words came out sharper than intended. She asked Colin and his sister, Courtney, to keep an eye on her during the night. They were supposed to be celebrating her birthday, after all. Instead, Colin had started socializing, and Courtney was dancing as soon as they walked in.

"Where's Courtney?" Amber asked. She hoped her words weren't slurring together.

Colin pointed to a curvy, brunette girl in the middle of the dance floor. She was dancing between two guys, smiling seductively to get their attention. Amber didn't have the strength to laugh.

The waiter returned with the drinks, and Amber nearly guzzled down her whole glass of water. She felt refreshed afterwards and managed to smile once she came up for air. Tanya had returned to the table as well, sliding in next to Amber since Colin had taken her spot.

"You feeling better?" Tanya asked her before turning to Colin. "Hey, I'm Tanya."

The two exchanged pleasantries before Colin began apologizing. "I'm so sorry Amber, I know you asked me to watch how much you drank, but..."

"So you're one of Amber's friends?" Tanya asked, taking a sip of soda. "Not very loyal, I see."

"Amber can take care of herself," Colin replied, before being interrupted by Amber.

"No, I can't," she muttered. "This is my first time at a bar. Is it too much to ask a friend to look out for me?"

Colin frowned bitterly. "I'm sorry, truly I am."

Amber looked across the room at Courtney, who had stopped dancing. She hobbled over to the table and sat next to Colin, hiccupping.

"Hey!" She squealed, placing her elbows on the table. "Who's the hot new chick?"

Tanya introduced herself just in time for the birthday dessert to arrive at the table. Amber's eyes lit up as a slice of chocolate cake with chocolate icing was placed in front of her. The waiter had carefully lit twenty-two colorful candles, and the flames danced as the table burst into the famous "Happy birthday" song.

Amber giggled, a new feeling washing over her. It was certainly a strange way to celebrate her twenty-second birthday. Getting so drunk she couldn't see straight, meeting a helpful friend in the bathroom, yelling at the friends who had abandoned her, and being rewarded with a special birthday cake.

When the song was over, Amber leaned forward and blew out all the candles. Despite her friends' pleas, she kept the cake all to herself.