Happy Birthday: A Novel

April and Valerie talked about her going to the Super Bowl in the cab. April still thought it was funny that she was going, but she had to give her mother credit for doing something new. And she and Jack had apparently become good friends, after their shared experience of the terrorist attack. April was aware that her mother was spending a lot of time with him, but April didn’t think there was anything more to it. They had survived a terrifying experience, and they were just friends. And for the moment, that was how Valerie thought of it too. They saw each other frequently, but neither of them had stuck their neck out farther than that, and she was glad. She had no desire to spoil a good thing, and it might.

The buildup to the Super Bowl was tremendous. There was endless press about it. Jack was back on his feet by then, though still with a cane. The network put him back to work, and he did several pre-Bowl interviews with major players and both coaches. He was fully back on deck again, and running in a thousand directions all at once.

He stuck his head in Valerie’s studio one day when she was taping. She couldn’t react, and he just waved and disappeared. They never saw each other at work; neither of them had time.

Valerie’s work life was going smoothly these days. Dawn had turned out to be even more efficient than Valerie had hoped. And she had dyed her blue streak purple. Valerie just smiled about it. She was growing fond of her.

It had been emotional for Jack going back to the building at first, more so than he had expected. All he could think of as he walked in was what had happened in the lobby when the hostages were freed. He had arrived in his office shaken and pale. He missed Norman, the young production assistant who had been killed. And other staff members were missing too, which they all noticed. Valerie had also lost a cameraman from her show, in addition to Marilyn. There had been a service in the lobby for the victims several weeks before. All the employees and families had attended and Dawn had come with her and cried, even though she hadn’t worked there when it happened. She felt a special bond to Marilyn, through all that Valerie said about her. It was still a hard time for them all, but everyone was doing their best to put the experience behind them and move on. And no one liked talking about it at work. It was too real.

The night before they left for the Super Bowl weekend Jack reminded Valerie again of everything she needed, and all the parties they were going to. There were events every night and throughout the day. She had done a very funny broadcast on her own show, saying that after years of telling people how to do Super Bowl parties, she was actually going to the game to see for herself.

There was going to be coverage of her there too. Her attendance and Jack’s, and particularly together, were major media events for the network, and they planned to take full advantage of it. Jack was actually going to interview her briefly during one of his broadcasts. And Valerie needed clothes for every appearance, every party, and the game, since she would be televised there too. She had three valises packed to take with her on the corporate plane. The head of the network and his wife were flying down with them.

“Three valises?” Jack said, sounding shocked when she told him. “Are you kidding? I’m only taking one, and I’m on air every day.”

“Yeah, but you don’t need coats, shoes, and matching purses,” she answered glibly.

“Christ, Valerie, the girls I usually take to the Super Bowl wear a miniskirt and a rhinestone bra.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet. Well, you can still take one of those. It’s not too late.”

“I’ll go for the coats and matching bags. At least you won’t throw up all over me when you get drunk on beer.”

“Now, there’s a plus.” She chuckled. She was actually excited about going now. They were flying to Miami in the morning and staying at the Ritz-Carlton in South Beach. She hadn’t been to Miami in years. And this was clearly a major event in American culture that she had never paid much attention to before. It was totally out of her realm. He had already been briefing her on football for several weeks. She knew the names of the important players, both coaches, and could identify some of the plays by the correct terms, after he explained them to her with the help of taped games and replays. She had paid attention and learned her lessons well. And Greg, his son, was coming down from Boston with three friends and meeting them there, but staying at a different hotel. As little as Jack said his son cared about sports, he still loved coming to the Super Bowl. It reminded him of when he was a little kid and watched his dad play.