The beer would be a good start.

It occurs to you that you could give Amber the beer. You wouldn’t want that to be the only present you give her, but it will do for the moment—especially since it’s great beer. If you have a beer with her and talk, maybe it will feel like a real gift.

You pull the six-pack from the fridge, then look through the box on Niall’s desk. You find a beautiful birthday card that you think Amber will love. The message inside is simple: “Wishing you a birthday as happy as you deserve.” You spend a while thinking about what to write; in the end, you sign the card, “Love always, Rob.” You want her to know that you’re not breaking off your friendship with her just because her mother broke off her relationship with you.

You grab the card and the beer and turn to leave. Your eye catches your duffel bag sitting on the floor of the closet; moved by an obscure impulse, you grab it and bring it along. You have no real reason to do so, but you have no particular reason not to, either. Might as well have it along as not, you think to yourself as you toss it in the trunk. You get in the car and drive to Amber’s house on campus.

*******

You’ve barely knocked when Amber opens the door. She smiles in pleasure and says, “Oh, good, you came. It's really good to see you . . . sorry about my mom. Come on in.”

Amber leads you to a square of loveseats arranged around a low wooden table. She perches on a grey loveseat, while you settle yourself across the corner from her on a blue one. You hold up the beer and say, “I brought you this—I’m afraid my life’s a little disrupted at the moment. I'll get you a real birthday present later.”

Amber gives you a tilted smile and says, “Disrupted. Yeah. As for a present . . . well, we’ll talk about that.” Suddenly you realize just how unhappy she looks. You missed it at first because she was so pleased to see you, but she’s clearly tense—which is unusual for her—and something’s really weighing her down. You wonder if maybe she’s having boyfriend problems. Of course, April always put everything with Amber down to boyfriend problems, but even a stopped clock is right twice a day. You should ask about that. Maybe you could give her some good advice.