Valerie
It was 6:05pm. Derek was late. While not uncommon for him to run late, we planned to see the movie first, then grab dinner. There was a 6:30 showing and a 7:15 showing. So if he was late enough for the first showing, we could always catch the second. Not a big deal. My birthday was technically yesterday, but Emily, Jessica, and Dina asked if they could take me out for drinks. I wanted to spend my actual birthday with Derek, but my girlfriends were a very close second. They got to me first, so I settled for the day after with Derek. I almost thought he forgot too. He has been under a lot of stress lately and I haven't reminded him of it either. I was glad when he asked me to go out. It made me feel like there was something salvageable left between us.
I tried to listen to what J
