Chapter 7 — The Party Starts Anyway
They returned home twelve minutes before the first guests arrived.
Daniel expected Vanessa to rush immediately back into party-planning mode.
She didn’t.
Instead, she stood in the kitchen.
Looked toward Sophie.
Then asked:
“Do you still want the party?”
Sophie frowned.
“Yes.”
“You’re sure?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
Vanessa looked embarrassed.
“Because of what happened.”
Sophie thought for a moment.
Then:
“I’m still mad.”
Vanessa nodded.
“Okay.”
“But I still want my birthday.”
Daniel smiled.
There it was.
Children did not always require the entire day to become a tragedy simply because adults had made one part of it painful.
The doorbell rang.
Then again.
Within fifteen minutes, the house filled with children.
Music.
Laughter.
Running feet.
Somebody knocked over a cup of juice within the first six minutes.
Vanessa saw it happen.
Her old instinct returned.
Find who did it.
Fix it immediately.
Then she stopped.
Picked up a towel.
“It’s juice.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Personal growth?”
“Don’t push it.”
Sophie opened gifts.
Played games.
Laughed with her friends.
When it was time for the cake, Vanessa carried it into the dining room.
Everyone began singing.
Sophie looked at the words:
SAVE AUNT CLAIRE A PIECE.
Then smiled.
After blowing out the candles, Sophie pointed at the corner.
“Nobody eats Aunt Claire’s piece.”
One boy immediately asked:
“How big is her piece?”
Sophie narrowed her eyes.
“Big.”
The room laughed.
Vanessa did too.
The cake was not the original perfect design.
Claire was not standing beside it.
The morning had been messy.
And yet Sophie was happy.
Vanessa realized something uncomfortable.
The party did not require perfection nearly as much as she had.