It started seventeen years before when Mona Bamford was rushed to the hospital for minor pain in her stomach when she bumped into a pregnant Lina Catalán. Lina was quite friendly from the get-go, while Mona was reserved. Both mothers reflected similar personalities on their daughters, Arisbeth and Indigo and they looked similar too.

   Indigo inherited her mother's short stature and light skin, but the freckles and sandy brown hair were from her father.

   Arisbeth on the other hand was tall with caramel-toned skin and almost looked like her mom's mini-me in the same way Bri had looked similarly to her mom.

   Friends even before birth, Indy and Beth were the root of the foursome. Mona's husband Frank worked with Fia's dad, Elric. This connection and Greta's pregnancy with Fia welcomed a new friendship for the unborn Indy.

   However, Sofia Östberg was born at the start of the year while Beth and Indy were born mid-year. Instead, Greta befriended other ladies who had children earlier in the year and hit it off with Phoebe Richard, who was unlike any of the networks she'd ever made.

   Phoebe Richard grew up in the neighborhood, moved to the city, then came back to the suburbs when she got married then pregnant with Bri, making her the fourth generation. The Keyworths were one of the establishing families of the neighborhood, old enough to be respected, but not so old to be considered well-off especially considering the other families who found their way there like the Bamfords.

   After Bri was born, Fia and she became two peas in a pod, as were their moms.

   Then, Beth came a few months later, followed by Indy not too long after.

   The four girls hadn't really gotten a sense of friendship until they were almost five years of age.

   According to tradition, turning five was a big deal. It would be the start of their waiting, waiting for the red string to appear. Therefore, Greta made a big deal to throw the best party for her second daughter, one of the firsts to turn five that year.

   She invited everyone within her list of contacts and invited her husband's friends too.

   Others in the neighborhood did the same.

   One birthday after another led the girls to each other.

   "I know you," Beth pointed to Bri while Indy and Fia stood beside each other.

   "I'm Bwi."

   "I'm Indy," Indy greeted the new girl. "And this is Fia."

   "She knows," Fia smiled.

   It was simple.

   "Are you going to have a birthday too?" Indy asked Bri.

   Bri pursed her lips and shook her head, "No."

   "But being fife is impowtant," Beth told them and then added, "I wiww hafe one."

   "Can I go?" Bri asked.

   "Suwe!"

   "Come to mine too," said Indy.

   After that day, the girls would see each other over again at many other events until it was time for Beth's early summer birthday.

   "I'm hafing a sweepofe," Beth bragged to most of the children coming to her birthday.

   However, most of the kids were either not close enough with her or older and they didn't care much about the sleepover they weren't invited to. Some of the younger ones on the other hand expressed how they wanted to go, like Fia's younger brother by one and a half years, Micah.

   "No boys awwowed," Beth barred him.

   That night they all wore matching pajamas with the words "Duck, Duck, Moose" written on their shirts and the animals printed on their pants. Beth and Indy wore tutus over theirs, one in pink and the other a lavender. Meanwhile, Fia wore a bathrobe over hers and called it a cape. Bri was the only one who kept hers as is.

   Lina worked tirelessly to recreate the family room into the oasis Beth had asked for. Gleaming lights reminiscent of fairy lights lit the room in place of the chandelier. They glowed in rainbow colors against the white walls and across the sheets of fabric strewn throughout the room. The bedsheets were held by upright sofa cushions and the backs of dining chairs created a castle rather than a fort. There were also cut-out cardboards around the outer perimeter, painted in white and pink to mimic castle walls.

   At the center was a cloud of pink pillows and around it were floor cushions meant to be the girls' beds.

   "Wow, Beth!" Bri said in awe, her mouth agape.

   "This is cool," Fia agreed.

   Indy said nothing but traced the shadows of the lights and sheet in a trance.

   Beth grinned to herself. She and her mama had worked hard on coming up with ideas for her first big birthday.

   "Wew, it ith my fife biwthday. It had to be thpe- thep-t-iaw."

   Beth huffed. Ever since losing her front teeth, speaking had become quite the task.

   "I can'th waith to gwow up," she added.

   She had all kinds of reasons to want to grow up aside from having more teeth.

   "Can you bewieve, I'm fife yeaws owd now. Nexth thing we know, I'w be mawwied!"

   "It doesn't work like that, Beth," Fia corrected her.

   "Wew, you'w go fiwst, Fia. Don't wowwy."

   "I'm not. Your red string may not come now."

   "HUSH!" Beth looked around, making sure no one else had heard her apart from the four of them. "You canth say thath!"

   "I'm just saying," Fia repeated herself. "My mom said, it can come, but it doesn't have to. Look at me."

   Certainly, Fia's red string had yet to appear and so did Bri's.

   Beth frowned and said, "I know ith doefn't. But Mama thaid, it couwd. It couwd, tho, I gotha wait."

   "Just don't be sad if it doesn't appear," Fia reminded her.

   "Yeah, don't be sad," Indigo patted Beth on the back.

   The red string they all waited for that night didn't appear on Beth like Fia had said it wouldn't. For a few years, they all did the waiting together. They celebrated their birthdays and had sleepovers, waiting for the red string until midnight. Every weekend, they'd play, sleep over, and wait again until it was time for Indigo's fifth birthday.

   Indy's birthday marked the last day of summer which meant, she was the last of that year's batch to turn five.

   Like Beth's mom, her mom went all out for her birthday. Balloon arches welcomed the countless attendees to the well-groomed front yard of the Bamfords. The front green door was open with Mrs. Bamford manning it, beckoning the families to come in. She wore a beautiful white corset dress.

   "Looking beautiful there, Mona," Beth's mom commented following their arrival.

   Beth held her mom's hand as they went up the steps of the front entrance, her eyes zooming from one decor to the next. Behind them was her dad, pushing a stroller.

   "Thank you, Lina."

   Mona and Lina exchanged kisses on the cheeks.

   "How is Azael?" Mona tickled the baby in the stroller.

   "He's doing much better. Don't cry as often."

   Azael was ten months old and Arisbeth's only sibling. Like Indigo, she'd been an only child until Azael.

   "Can I go fee Indy?"

   Lina nodded and let her daughter run off.

   Just as the Catalán family entered, the Östbergs arrived with their children, Regina, the eldest at eight years old, Sofia, and Micah, the youngest who is soon to be four.

   "Greta!" Mona took Greta by the hand. "Good that you could make it."

   Greta's husband, Elric was transferred a few years back from the East Coast to the West division of his company where Mona's husband, Frank worked as a general manager. Through their shared interests, they got along well and so did their wives.

   Of the four families, only Bri came from a lower-class background. Her parents were both professors who had nothing to do with the Fortune 500.

   "There goes Phoebe," Lina called out when she spotted an SUV parked across the street.

   "Why don't you kids go in," Elric insisted with Micah cooing in his arms.

   "Okay, Dad," Regina answered, entering without her sister.

   "I can wait for Bri," said Sofia.

   "They'll be a while, Fia," Her mom pushed her along.

   Fia couldn't see past the fence, but on the other side of the street, Bri was assisted out of the car by her mom while her uncle unfastened her three-year-old brother from his car seat. She didn't call out after Regina when she finally went in and instead headed towards her friends already present.

   "Happy birthday, Indy," she greeted once she reached them.

   A present tucked under her arm was revealed. Beth grimaced but said nothing.

   "Thank you, Fia," said Indy.

   One after another, guests arrived and filled the large Victorian two-story house the Bamfords afforded. The wide and open backyard with a manicured garden of roses and lilies was also open to the guests. From the back porch to the green grass grounds, people could be seen mingling. Kids ran around freely while their parents got to know each other.

   As the last birthday of the summer, this was their last chance to make acquaintances with their same-aged children, at least until the birthdays next year.

   Regina was one of the few older kids at the party. She spotted a boy she met when she turned five, who had started to attend more birthdays this year thanks to his younger cousin.

   "Shayne!" She called out.

   The young eight-year-old boy smiled at seeing her.

   "Regina," he returned.

   "I'm glad I'm not the only older kid here," she sighed.

   "Well, there's also, Jasper," he pointed out to a boy chugging down the punch from its serving bowl. "He's here."

   Jasper was one year younger than Shayne and Regina. He had a stout build with a shaved head. Regina remembered him as the "bowling ball". He was hardly "older kid" material in her eyes.

   "He comes to everyone's birthdays," she said, sarcastically.

   Shayne just smiled.

   "My cousin's over there," he added.

   "Oh, Maybelle!" She cheered.

   Her eyes were far from happy, but she was still glad to see someone she could get along with.

   "Wegina's hewe too," Beth pointed with her stubby fingers, "wif a cute boy."

   "Shayne?" Indy asked, peeking from behind her.

   "You know him?"

   "He goes to all the parties I went to."

   "Maybelle goes to all the birthdays," Fia informed them further about Shayne's visiting cousin. "Maybelle comes from up there. She comes and goes every summer, so she gets to go everywhere."

   The other girls ooh'd and ahh'd but were unable to understand what "comes and goes" meant or where up there is, not that Fia could explain. She was only repeating what her mom had said.

   Bri crept from behind them.

   "What you up to?" She popped in.

   Beth and Indy squealed in surprise. Fia grinned knowingly.

   "It's that cute boy again," Fia turned Bri's head where Shayne and Regina were busy talking.

   "Oh, yeah. He's cute."

   Indy just shrugged. She wasn't sure if she could call Shayne cute. She'd seen him so many times that year that he'd become like the balloons, unexciting.

   "Today, we haf to stay up. No sweeping!" Beth turned her attention away from Shayne. "One of uth thouwd get ouw wed stwing."