What a birthday! Three days later and I haven’t totally recovered. Add to that both Steve and myself still have lingering effects from that cold we shared last week, and I could be in for a rough remainder of the week – but it will have been so worth it.

Sunday was my 39th birthday and that’s a pretty big deal. Jeez…39…hard to type it even now. Not so much because of the age itself, those are just numbers after all, right? But I never thought I’d be on the cusp of a new decade, technically en route to “middle aged” without Nick by my side. By now we were meant to be married and, though we didn’t discuss it much, have several little Hardaway kids running amok reading each other’s minds and cracking jokes in posh British accents. Well…maybe simply have kids, period.

Instead I’m heading into that gray time of life when having kids is more difficult and more risky. If I can’t find a way to Nick soon I may never have them. But this is precisely the kind of thinking I wanted to avoid this year, so I decided to surround myself with people who were friends not only to me, but to Nick.

The Rose Red survivors see each other one-on-one or in small groups on occasion, but rarely get together for a full “reunion”. Thanks to Steve that’s precisely what happened Sunday night. It was my idea that we should all spend some time together, but he found the venue(s) and threw the bash.

In attendance were Steve, Emery and his lovely fiancée Mary, Rachel and her husband Brian, Annie, and Cathy and her husband Clark. That’s all the Rose Red survivors, their spouses/significant others (except Steve, who’s single), and me.

ABOVE: Somewhat awkwardly standing on an uneven surface, L to R top: Emery, Steve. L to R bottom: Mary, Rachel, Annie, me. This photo was taken by Rachel’s husband Brian. This was prior to our sitting at the Herbfarm – continue reading for more about that. Cathy & Clark hadn’t arrived yet.

Rewinding a bit, the celebration kicked off earlier in the day when I got a gorgeous bouquet of flowers that arrived mid-morning from Jenn.

ABOVE: Happy birthday flowers.

Prior to that I had phone calls from family and friends, wishing me well. I also had an in-joke manifest itself in a fairly surreal way. A friend of mine (Jayne) from my waitress days is really into 1960s music, and at the time I confessed I had a huge crush on Davy Jones from the Monkees (it must be an Englishman thing…) when I was growing up and they were showing the TV show on Saturday morning reruns. On Sunday, a man in a giant gorilla suit scared the daylights out of me when I opened my front door. He began to sing me a happy birthday song to the tune of “Hey Hey We’re The Monkees”, but the chorus went “Hey Hey Happy Birthday” - since it fits into the meter of the lyric. It was hilarious and uncomfortable all at once.

ABOVE: Here’s the singing gorilla in my hallway.

But he also brought a gift from Jayne, a box of 12 amazing cupcakes from a local bakery. They’re really hip and kinda mod – just Jayne’s style! I ate one for lunch, a good sugar rush that’d leave me bottomed out and ready for the feast to come.

ABOVE: Some of the cupcakes, which I took out and arranged near the sink for the photo op – not the counters, for obvious reasons…

Then I got a little work done, polished up a piece I’d written the night before. After that it was time to get ready! I pampered myself, slipped into my best little black dress and sweetest not-so-tiny black heels, and I was ready to go.

ABOVE: Sacrifice comfort for cuteness, ladies!

I hopped into a cab and headed to the Herbfarm. We had a 4.30pm seating but prior to they do tours of their gardens where you can see growing the things that eventually end up on your plate. They also have an Open House in their wine cellar, so that’s where we met about an hour before our dinner.

In roughly two-by-twos the group assembled in the wine cellar, lots of hugs and laughter and oohing and ahhing over each other. It was a really great vibe. Following the Open House we went up for the stroll in the garden, then settled in for our amazing meal. The only people missing for the initial reunion were Cathy and Clark, but they arrived just on time for dinner.

As you can see from the photo above Annie is particularly beautiful. For all intent and purpose Rachel’s “raising” her - but now that Annie is more functional thanks to her schooling, she and Rachel are best friends as well as sisters. Rachel helps her shop for clothes, they do make-up together, plan each other’s accessories. At 23 Annie is a vibrant young woman and while she still shies away from contact, she talks much more than she did as a teenager, and can be quite grown up. It’s hard not to think of Annie as the little girl she was in 2001 – even at 15, her autism made her the equivalent of a child. Not the case anymore. She’s certainly different still, but nothing like when I first met her.

Rachel’s pregnant, as I’ve mentioned before, and pregnancy becomes her. In a way I felt badly that so much of the evening involved drinking, but she was a designated driver for Brian and Annie – yes – Annie’s legal to drink, too! Brian is a loving and supportive husband, and the life of the party.

Emery looks simply outstanding these days, and he’s clearly over the moon with Mary. They compliment each other so well. Different in all the right ways, and similar in all the right ways. She’s a really pretty woman too – and I told her I’d kill for her shirt, it was the prettiest green I’d ever seen in a garment. They’re going to be heading out on an exciting paranormal investigation soon, so I was happy to have the chance to chill out with them before they depart.

Steve is Steve, he always looks the same to me, even though I’m sure he’s aged like the rest of us. His personality is so much like it was when I first met him…I can’t even say he’s “matured” because he was very mature in 2001, too. The bill for the entire night was on him, and I can’t even begin to imagine how much it cost. For 9 of us (coincidentally, the same number as Joyce’s expedition party) to dine at the Herbfarm and have drinks elsewhere…well since he reads this I shan’t be rude about the pricing, but let’s just say it was a hell of a present. And I dearly appreciated it. Every moment was precisely what the doctor ordered.

Cathy has changed a lot – for the better. She’s let her hair down, literally, because she’s grown it out, lightened it, and looks more casual! Clark has done a great job of boosting her self-esteem, which I got the impression from Nick was less than ideal (from the ‘briefing’ he gave me after the orientation). I think she wanted to be a wilder, more sensuous woman than she was, and while she still remains devoutly Christian (and her husband’s a minister) she’s letting her playful, relaxed side show more now. She was a late bloomer and there’s nothing wrong with that. Clark is a quiet and gentle man, a really kind soul. He’s quite tall so I think of him as a jolly giant, because he loves a laugh as well.

ABOVE: A quick photo of Cathy and Clark in the Founder’s Room as we were getting ready to leave.

The Herbfarm is an incredible experience. It’s a 9 course dinner with 5-6 perfectly matched wines selected for specific courses. A 9 course dinner! I didn’t know what to do with all the food, but it was so delicious. They have “themes” focusing primarily on the bounty of food the Pacific Northwest has to offer. The current theme is “Kobe Beef - Super Cattle in Seattle”. It was divine. Nick would have absolutely loved the experience, with his passion for wine.

To top it off we were seated in the Founders Room, which was absolutely gorgeous and quite private.

After stuffing ourselves silly with dinner and consuming a fair amount of wine (to say the least…some of us more than others), we headed over to The Sitting Room bar/cafe to carry on our celebration. Those of us who took cabs to the Herbfarm hitched rides to the bar with those who planned to be sober enough to drive cars.

ABOVE: Brian was not one of the designated drivers… (And neither was I!)

That’s when the birthday presents came into play, as well as a touching twist. The Herbfarm has desserts built into their menu, so I didn’t expect a cake. But at The Sitting Room, Rachel and Brian disappeared for a little while and reappeared with a platter of a homemade chocolate cake with mocha icing and homemade brownies. All were adorned with raspberries, my favorite fruit. They’d made it all for me together. Annie had the birthday candles in her purse, which she arranged artfully as if playing with her dominoes. Because I drove to the venue with Cathy and Clark, I didn’t know any of this was going on – Rachel had the platter boxed in her trunk, and en route to the bar they stopped to grab a raspberry sorbet Rachel had scouted at a market days before. She scooped it out on the platter and the result is below.

ABOVE: With candles lit and “Happy Birthday” in the air, it really felt like a proper celebration.

Since The Sitting Room operates as a restaurant as well we borrowed some serving wear and ate cake, brownies, and sorbet until I was sure I was breaking seams on the sides of my dress. And of course there were drinks, plenty of them.

The only people whose presents didn’t make it to the bar were Steve, Emery and Mary. Emery and Mary bought me the most gorgeous, authentic Edwardian chair. I’m beyond speechless at such a generous gift! They said it would be nice to return something from Rose Red’s grandest days to the property, but for it to not be tainted with Rose Red’s history. And one of the many fantastic things about post-cognates is they have a pretty good idea when something’s been through a rough time and has icky psychic residue attached. He pronounced the chair “clean”. (I think when he retires from the paranormal he might have a future in antiques!)

ABOVE: My lovely chair, which I placed on the patio outside my suite to get better lighting. It’ll take up permanent residence in my den.

Steve’s gift was of course the evening itself, and he didn’t have to do a thing more. But he did. When I got home that night I found a delivery on my doorstep – a beautiful basket with a bottle of Dom Pérignon, Lindor Truffles (probably one of my favorite things in the world), and Ghirardelli chocolate. He knows my weaknesses. Of course, he’s a chocolate lover too, so I rang him and joked it was a cheap ploy to get me to bring a “picnic” to his place. If he wants that Ghirardelli he’ll just have to come to me!

But it was very generous and while I’ve tucked into the truffles (I can’t resist), I’m saving the champagne and other chocolate for his very first visit, which hopefully will be soon…

I made out like a bandit from the others, as well.

ABOVE: Rachel and Brian bought me this gorgeous, unusual pearl bracelet. I wore it to a meeting today and received lots of compliments.

ABOVE: Annie went shopping with Rachel and picked this out for me herself. It’s such a thoughtful and beautiful present. It’s a very tiny real rose that’s enameled and plated in 24K gold, the “Forever Rose”. She wrote on the gift card “Roses mean remember.” I’m going to put that gift card in one of boxes where I save little things that are completely precious to me.

ABOVE: Cathy and Clark gave me a great dress, and I can’t wait for spring to draw on a little more so I can wear it comfortably. It has a vintage look and came from one of my favorite boutiques. I guess Emery must have told her my dress size – he’d know because he roomed with me in Tacoma after selling his mother’s house and as I said in the wedding interview, I’ve been aiming to stay the same size so my wedding dress will be ready to go at a moment’s notice! At any rate, this dress fits like a glove.

My parents, whom I had dinner with on Saturday night for an early, quiet birthday celebration, gave me an absolutely gorgeous pair of earrings. I’m sure they must have cost a fair bit…everyone’s been so generous to me, even more this year than others. I guess 39 is a big deal after all!

ABOVE: .75 bezel set diamond studs with white and yellow gold setting.

Something that was really special was getting to spend more time with the Rose Red survivors that I don’t know that well, or haven’t seen in a long time. I’ve only met Rachel and Annie a handful of times, for example, but now I feel like we’re great friends. I haven’t seen Cathy in a couple years, though we’ve spoken on the phone. Reconnecting was wonderful. And with the exception of Mary whom I’ve spent some time with, I really didn’t know the rest of the significant others – but we all bonded well.

Now that the festivities are behind me there’s a bit of a letdown, that feeling you get after something really amazing has come and gone. But I can wear my pin and explore Cora’s crystal skull. I can wear my bracelet and continue to catch the eyes of important people. I can wear my dress and earrings and look like a million bucks. I can smell my flowers and eat cupcakes. I can caress my chair and eye the Dom Pérignon for the big day when Steve makes his return to his family’s old estate.

A very happy 39th overall. These lovely people all kept me from over-thinking things. I did miss Nick, and that night in bed as I was falling asleep I hugged my extra pillow – his pillow, technically – and pretended it was him. I could almost hear him saying “Happy Birthday” to me, and I think the best gift of all is that even after 8 years, I haven’t forgotten the sound of his voice. Even if it’s only in my head.

11 Comments »

1. I just don’t know what to say! You write extremely well - I couldn’t stop reading, but I didn’t know if I was reading fiction or your real life…

   Now, I need to read more to discover what your blog is about and who Rose Red really is.

   Comment by Heather in Beautiful BC — April 8, 2009 @ 1:27 pm

2. [...] Unraveling Rose Red » Birthday & Rose Red Reunion Reportn I got home that night I found a delivery on my doorstep – a beautiful basket with a bottle of Dom P¨¦rignon, Lindor Truffles (probably one of my favorite things in the world), and Ghirardelli chocolate. He kn [...]

   Pingback by Unraveling Rose Red » Birthday & Rose Red Reunion Report | WhoSayWhatWhen — April 8, 2009 @ 2:26 pm

3. I am with Heather. I am going to have to read your archives to find out who Nick is. Happy Birthday. Wow! those were really high heels.

   Comment by Karen — April 8, 2009 @ 6:22 pm

4. I’m not sure if I should wish you a happy birthday or not. What a wonderful “story”. I read every word and re-read some again. I felt like I was right there throughout the whole day.

   Comment by ConnieFoggles — April 8, 2009 @ 6:46 pm

5. I watched the Rose Red series on TV a few years ago. It was really good! This is a great blog. You write beautifully.

   Comment by Sadie — April 8, 2009 @ 6:52 pm

6. Thanks everyone for all your wonderful comments.

   To those who haven’t yet explored the site, I hope you enjoy getting to know the fascinating mystery that is Rose Red, and my research into the “curse” surrounding it.

   To those who compliment my writing, I greatly appreciate it. Every writer needs a confidence booster shot in the arm now and again.

   And Karen, they’re definitely not the kind of heels you wear out dancing! I tend to like extremely high heels anyway, nothing below 4.5″ heels unless I absolutely must. In this case, they’re 5″ with a platform. I guess overall it’s about 6″ elevation…haven’t measured it fully. They’re a tribute to the Yves Saint Laurent Trib 2 that’s all the rage with celebrities…”tribute” being a nice way of saying this designer “borrowed” the YSL design!

   Yes…I’m all about shoes and the paranormal, what a combo!

   Comment by Ally — April 8, 2009 @ 8:12 pm

7. Pretty cool Blog!! We enjoyed your Birthday party!! It felt like we were there!! Thanks for sharing!
   Your FL furiends,
   and Maverick

   Comment by Samantha & Mr. Tigger — April 8, 2009 @ 8:18 pm

8. Also new to your blog, but you’ve hit my hidden passion right on the nail. I used to have a site dedicated solely to the strange and unusual, so exploring more of yours will be extremely fun! Also happy birthday… and yes, you are right. It’s only a number

   Comment by Diane Scott — April 8, 2009 @ 9:19 pm

9. [...] full details about the party and such can be found here on Ally’s [...]

   Pingback by A Celebration « — April 9, 2009 @ 6:37 am

10. I remember seeing the movie a while ago. Im reading your writting and thinking, I need to watch the movie again lol
    Glad to see your 39th was a good one.

    Comment by LadyGrace — April 16, 2009 @ 9:59 pm

11. I live not far from your area (Poulsbo). So the Rose Red story has always sparked my interest. You are doing a great job with keeping the mystery and intrigue alive. I always look forward to your next post!

    Comment by Barbara — April 17, 2009 @ 9:13 am

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