Today is my birthday.

Compared with last year, I have a lot more to celebrate this year. Last year, I was living in a one-bedroom apartment where my son slept on a cot in the living room, and the landlord had just hiked up the rent by two hundred bucks a month. I hadn’t been on a date in two years. Josh was coming home in tears every day because of the bullies at school. I had a babysitter who didn’t show up half the time and kept making me late to my urgent care shifts. And even though my parents were alive, we weren’t speaking for years.

This year, Josh is happy in school. We’ve got a big house to live in, and we each have our own room. And of course, there’s Tim, who I’ve only been dating for a month, but I’m starting to think I’m really falling for him.

I spend an extra-long time getting ready tonight. Tim is taking me out to dinner, just the two of us. I had been planning to include Josh, but when I mentioned it to Margie, she looked horrified. You need to have an adult night out, she insisted. That’s why she’ll be coming to watch Josh so Tim can take me to a nice restaurant.

When I look in the full-length mirror in my bedroom, I’m pleased with what I see. I’m wearing a little black dress that makes my boobs look big, paired with black kitten heels, and my dark hair is loose and silky around my shoulders. And when I come downstairs and Josh sees me, his eyes turn into saucers.

“Mom,” he says, “you look pretty.”

He means it as a compliment, but the fact that he sounds so shocked when he says it makes me wonder how he thinks I look the rest of the time.

“Thank you,” I say.

He puts down his Nintendo and looks at me expectantly. “Are we going out to dinner?”

I settle down next to Josh on the sofa, tugging on the hem of my dress. “Actually, Margie is coming. Just Tim and I are going out tonight.”

“Oh.” He looks confused. “So is Tim your boyfriend?”

I knew that question was coming eventually. Tim and I have been careful about how we act around each other when Josh is around so he won’t realize we’re a couple. Tim spent the night a couple of times, and he set the alarm on his phone for six in the morning so he could vacate the house before Josh woke up. But it was inevitable Josh would figure it out. And I owe him the truth.

“Yes, he is,” I say. “Are you okay with that?”

Josh hesitates, thinking it over. “Yeah, that’s okay. Tim is cool.” “I’m glad you think so.”

“Also, he’s the assistant principal of the school, so I could get away with stuff if he’s your boyfriend.”

I burst out laughing. Josh is like the best-behaved student ever, and I doubt there’s anything he would do in school worse than, I don’t know, reading a book under the table during movie time at school.

Unlike his father.

The doorbell rings, and I run to answer it. There was a fifty-fifty chance it might be Margie, but I’m glad to see Tim standing at the door. He’s wearing a dark gray jacket over a blue dress shirt and a tie. He looks achingly handsome, and all I can do is stare at him. I barely even notice he’s looking at me the same way until he lets out a low whistle.

“Damn,” he says. “You’re going to give me a heart attack, Brooke.”

He leans in to kiss me, but before he can, we hear Josh’s footsteps racing towards us. He pulls away just as Josh bounds into the foyer. Josh points a finger at Tim.

“You’re my mom’s boyfriend,” he announces.

Tim looks at me with his eyebrows raised, and I nod. “He asked,” I explain. Then I add, “He thinks you’re cool.”

“Wow, Josh, I’m honored.” He places a palm on his chest. “That might be the first time anyone has called me cool in my entire life.”

Josh giggles. Tim reaches over and takes my hand in his. I don’t know if we want to be super affectionate in front of Josh, but I think holding hands is okay.

“So,” Tim says, “I’ve got your birthday present in my pocket. Do you want it now or later?”

I wink at him. “Immediate gratification, please.” “Some things never change.

Josh doesn’t seem interested in a present that isn’t for him, so he goes back to playing Nintendo while Tim and I head out to the kitchen table. I sit down next to him, and he reaches into his jacket pocket to pull out a blue rectangular box that is clearly jewelry.

“I hope you didn’t spend too much,” I blurt out. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that, but Tim can’t be raking it in at the elementary school. I don’t want him to spend tons of money on me.

“You’re worth it.” He lays his hand on top of mine as he looks into my eyes. “But no, I didn’t spend a fortune. It’s something special—I think you’ll really like it.”

“I know I will.”

Tim used to be so thoughtful about getting presents. I’m sure whatever he got me is going to be wonderful. I gently pry the lid off the box—a gold necklace is nestled inside, resting on a little square of cotton. I pick up the necklace, holding it up until I can see the charm hanging off the gold chain.

It’s a snowflake.

I drop the necklace like it’s made of acid. I think I’m going to be sick. It’s the same kind of snowflake necklace that I used to wear years ago. The same kind of snowflake necklace that Shane tried to strangle me with a decade earlier.

I jump up from the table so quickly that the chair wobbles on its legs. I feel a tightening in my throat. That necklace. It looks so much like the one I used to wear.

Tim jumps out of his own seat. “Brooke? What’s wrong?” “Why would you get me that?” I shriek.

“I… I don’t understand.” He wrinkles his forehead. “It’s the same kind of necklace that I got you for your tenth birthday. I haven’t seen you wear it, so I figured you lost it. I saw this one at the town flea market last month, so I—”

“Shane tried to strangle me with that necklace!”

Tim looks baffled. “He did? I thought he tried to do it with his… with his hands…”

My breaths are coming fast. Too fast. “No, he used my necklace. That

necklace!”

“I’m so sorry, Brooke. I didn’t realize—”

He reaches out to put his arm around me, but I jerk away. Instead, I sprint in the direction of the bathroom, and before he can reach me, I slam the door shut. And lock it. I need a moment to collect myself.

When I’m alone in the bathroom, I stare at myself in the vanity mirror. I put on makeup for our date tonight, but you wouldn’t know it from looking at me now. My face is about the same color as a sheet of paper, and the purple circles under my eyes are as visible as ever.

How could Tim forget about that necklace? I testified during Shane’s trial about how he tried to strangle me with it. Tim was sitting right in the audience. I remember because whenever I was nervous during my testimony, he would look at me and I’d feel less alone. After all, he was there that night too.

How could he possibly forget that the snowflake necklace almost killed me?

Stay away from Tim Reese. He’s dangerous.

Okay, I need to calm down. Tim heard my testimony, but it’s not like he’s been having nightmares involving a snowflake necklace for the last decade. It’s understandable he might have forgotten that little detail. It certainly makes more sense than the alternative of him intentionally buying me that necklace to freak me out.

“Brooke?” Tim knocks gently on the bathroom door. “Are you okay?”

I take a deep breath, then blow it out slowly. I can’t spend the rest of the evening in this bathroom. I need to come out.

I open the door to the bathroom. Tim is standing in front of me, and he looks stricken—almost as bad as I feel.

“I’m so sorry, Brooke,” he says. “I’m such an idiot. I completely forgot.”

“It’s okay,” I say, even though it’s not really.

“I’ll get you a different present,” he vows. “Something way better.”

He holds out his arms and I reluctantly allow him to put them around me. After a few seconds, I melt against his chest.

“I hope I didn’t ruin the night,” he murmurs. “You didn’t.”

I can’t let this bother me. He was just trying to be sentimental and get me a gift he thought I would love. He had no idea I would react that way. I need to put it out of my head and enjoy the evening.