Page 145

“Happy birfday!” Chelsea said. She ran and hugged my legs.

I hugged her back and beamed at the setup. He’d made me confetti pancakes. There was a HAPPY BIRTHDAY banner hanging from the light fixture and a present wrapped in colorful paper with a gold bow sitting in the middle of the table.

I didn’t expect this. I didn’t expect anything unless it was Maddy.

He pulled my chair out. “For the birthday girl.”

I couldn’t stop smiling. “Thank you.”

I sat and he pushed my chair in and kissed the side of my head.

“All right, ready?” he said, rubbing his hands together. “One, two…”

They burst into the “Happy Birthday” song. Alex started belting it like an opera singer. Sarah glared at him, and Chelsea descended into giggles. Justin laughed through the last half and when it ended, I blew out the candles. Everyone cheered.

Justin set a Starbucks napkin next to my plate and sat next to me. “I hope you like what I got you.”

“Do you want me to open it now?”

“Presents!” Chelsea said, bouncing a little.

“Open it! Open it!” Alex chanted.

Sarah looked annoyed at her siblings’ enthusiasm, but by the way she was waiting, I could tell she wanted to see what it was.

“Okay.” I pulled the box into my lap.

“Maddy helped me with it,” Justin said.

“She did?”

“Yup.”

I pulled the ribbon off and tore the paper. When I opened the lid, I had to dig through tissue to find it and when I did, I gasped. It was Stuffie.

He’d been cleaned and his eye sewn back on. His fur was brushed out and white again. His stuffing had been replaced, and he had a new mane. He looked like he used to.

I turned him around gently in my hands. “How…?”

“Maddy snuck it out for me. Faith did it,” he said.

I brushed my fingers across the clean, soft fur on Stuffie’s head, tears welling in my eyes.

He nodded at it. “She took a little of his old stuffing and put it in a fabric heart and put it back in his chest with his new filling.”

I held the doll against me and looked over at him. “Thank you so much,” I breathed.

He smiled and leaned in and kissed me. Alex hooted and Sarah moaned about it being gross, and Justin and I grinned against each other’s lips.

Justin pulled the candles out of my breakfast and served me some bacon.

Alex grabbed a pancake and rolled it like a burrito and took a bite. “I gotta go to school,” he said, chewing with his mouth open. “Happy birthday.”

“Thank you.” I smiled.

“Happy birthday,” Sarah said, following him out.

Justin set a cut-up pancake in front of Chelsea and poured syrup over it and sat next to me.