Common Ground (The Common Ground Trilogy Book 1) by Barry Chaison Page B

scent of baked goodness wafted through the air. There was something familiar about the smell, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
    “Zoe? Is that you?” Annie’s voice yelled from somewhere behind the closed kitchen door.
    “Yeah,” I hollered back.
    “Do me a favor, give me about 5 minutes to finish up in here before you come in? Just hang out in your room until I get you.”
    “Why? What are you doing in there?” I asked loudly, sauntering slowly towards the kitchen through the TV room.
    “I told you to give me 5 minutes!” she snapped as her head poked out of the sliding wooden door. “It’s a surprise!”
    “Okay, okay, calm down,” I laughed. “I’ll be in my room.”
    I walked into the room and threw my bag onto the bed. My body collapsed next to it as I turned on the fan that rested on the nightstand. The smell from the kitchen had followed me, making it impossible to relax with such a delightful aroma filling the air. Without any other options, I decided to unpack my bag until Annie came for me. The package from the Johnsons was the first thing out, so I tossed it onto the bed softly and continued to unpack everything else. After five minutes, a hard knock on the door echoed throughout the room. Annie, singing loudly and wearing a pointy party hat, entered the room carrying something that brought tears to my eyes.
    Resting in Annie’s hands was a full sized rainbow chip cake, complete with frosting and 20 sparkling candles.  Once Annie was finished singing, she told me to make a wish before blowing them out.
    “But I’m not 20 yet,” I joked, wiping a tear away.
    “No, but you need one to grow on!” she demanded.
    Just as in my dream, I closed my eyes for a moment and thought about what I wanted more than anything in the world. My mind raced through many different things, but I finally realized that there was nothing else, or nowhere else I’d rather have been than right there at that very moment, with my best friend.
    After a minute, I opened my eyes and blew out all the candles in one fell swoop. Annie put the cake down and gave me a big hug.
    “Happy Birthday Zoe, I love you,” she whispered as more tears filled my eyes.
    “I love you too,” I said back.
    “Hey, is that from my parents?” Annie asked, referencing the gift sitting on my bed.
    “Oh yeah, you want me to open it?”
    “Sure, but I already know what it is,” she said with a slight smirk.
    I picked up the box and tore it open. There was a rectangular object that was wrapped up in bubble wrap and tissue paper, which took a few seconds to tear off. After all of the wrappings were off, I flipped the frame over and gazed in wonder.
    It wasn’t one of my mother’s paintings, but instead a simple photo that I hadn’t seen in years. In it stood two young girls, one with curly, golden hair and majestic green eyes, the other with long black hair and mysterious blue eyes. Their arms were around each other and huge, gaping-tooth smiles covered their faces from ear to ear. The Puget Sound was in the background as a beautiful sunset rippled off the water. I looked up at Annie who had an even wider smile plastered on her face.
    “Pretty cool huh?” she asked.
    “You did this?” I asked in awe.
    “I guess you could say that. I called my mom and told her what we should do. She then got out some of your parents old pictures and we went through them on the phone for hours until we found it. It’s my favorite picture of us.”
    “It’s the best gift I’ve ever received,” I said, choking up.
    “Well the day’s not over yet.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “You may want to change. We’re going out for a drive.”
     
    Chapter 5: Old Acquaintances
    “Wow,” I gasped in wonder, staring down into a vast pit of power lines and turbine engines. “Annie, you have to come and see this!”
    “I’m good over here, thanks,” came Annie’s queasy voice from somewhere close behind me.
    I turned on the spot and noticed how far away