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I looked from Silas to Fernando to the tilted cake that Fernando unboxed in the center of the bed. Was it really July sixteenth already? I guessed it was. I’d lost track of time during the mission.
“Thank you,” I told Silas. “How did you know?”
He gave me his disappointed scowl. “I would never forget your birthday.”
I guessed it was just me doing the forgetting.
“Fernando picked the cake,” Silas said.
“Cake. Cake.” Fernando threw his little blue fists at the sky.“Cake!”
Silas offered me a fork and took a seat on the bed. I followed his lead, and scooped some scrambled eggs onto a piece of toast.
Fernando swayed back and forth beside the cake. His pupil dilated and his tongue darted out to catch a dribble of slobber. There was only so long he could wait before he devoured thecake. I ate my slice of toast, then figured it would be best to put him out of anticipation purgatory.
“What do you guys think, should we cut the cake?” I asked.
Fernando’s entire ball body shook with excitement.“Cake.”
“From that expression, I’m going to guess he’s either saying yes, or he’s about to maul something,” Silas said. “I’m hoping it’s the cake he wants to maul and not me.”
“Us Fernsbys take our desserts seriously,” I said. “He wants the cake.”
Silas approached the leaning tower of frosting with a small plastic knife. I watched with a cringe at how crudely the plastic accessory decimated the confection. Fernando watched and waited, using every ounce of self-control he possessed.
Silas offered me a plate. He cut a second piece and offered it to Fernando.
“One for Lily. One for Silas. All for Fernando.” With that, Fernando dove at the remaining cake and devoured it in one messy bite.
“Whoa,” Silas said, leaning back.
Fernando rolled onto his back. Icing covered his cheeks, his unibrow, and his arms. He rubbed his tummy and let out a bellowing burp.
A black ball of something shot out of his mouth and landed on the floor.
“I hope that wasn’t inside the cake,” I said.
“One bite…” Silas said, still staring at Fernando. “He ate the whole thing without chewing.”
“You should be glad he let us each have a piece.” I took a bite of the yellow slice on my plate. It wasn’t plain vanilla as it appeared, but cinnamon and caramel. “This is quite good. Where’s it from? I didn’t notice a bakery in town.”
“My aunt bakes,” Silas said. “She does all the special occasion cakes in the area.”
“You…portaled to…” It occurred to me then that I didn’t actually know where Silas lived, or where he was from. It seemed like something I should know after being acquainted for so many years.
“No,” he said. “I asked her to bake it before she left. It was in the fridge downstairs.”
Downstairs?
“Your aunt owns the B&B?”
“Yes. She also owns the car I’ve been driving. I assumed we’d still be here for your birthday, so I ordered you a cake.” He furrowed his brows. “It’s not a big deal, Lily.”
It was a big deal. It was a really big deal that Silas had not only remembered my birthday, but had made plans to celebrate. I hadn’t even bothered to remember the date. Did he know that my mom always bought me breakfast sweets on my birthday? I would guess Fernando had found some way to tell him, like writing him a note, but Silas had arranged this before he’d met Fernando. He did thisfor mebecausehe cared.
Fernando hopped out of the bed.
“Why didn’t you tell me that your aunt owned the B&B?” I asked Silas. “That you knew the area and the people and—”
