Aurora sat at the head of the table, her mother on one side and her dad on the other. She silently counted the candles on her cake.
One… two… three… four… five.
She had just received her certificate for counting to thirty from her teacher, Ms. Locke, so now she practiced her counting wherever she was. It was time for her to make a wish and blow out all five of her candles, then she could open her presents.
She breathed in until her chest felt like it might explode from too much air, and then she blew out the candles as hard as she could. She got four of them and then took a little breath to blow out the fifth one. She was sad that her wish might not come true, but then her mom told her that it was okay, because she got them all out. She would not tell anyone what she wished, because then it wouldn't come true.
"Time for presents," her mom called out after everyone had eaten a piece of birthday cake.
Grandpa gave her a new bike with training wheels. Training wheels were for babies, but Grandpa told her that he would help her learn to ride without them. Poppa Doc and Gramma Joy gave her a pretty new dress with pink flowers on it and a stuffed bear that was almost as big as she was. She got a dollhouse from Uncle Mooney, play make-up from Daisy, and books and games from Gus and Vi. A bunch of pretty flowers and other stuff were left at their door by all of the creatures from the forest. Jorek even made her a crown of yellow flowers. She wore it while she opened her other presents. She decided to never take it off.
After the last of the cake and ice cream were eaten and presents were opened, Aurora sat on the couch, snuggled up next to her mom and dad. She was still wound up from the fun of her party, but she yawned and stretched, snuggling in tighter against her mom's side.
Everyone was about to leave, so Aurora gave kisses, hugs, and thank-yous to her family and friends while they walked out the door. When the last guest left, Aurora walked back to the living room and sat down next to the teddy bear from Doc and Joy. She wrapped her arms around her fuzzy new friend and closed her eyes.
"Aurora, you have one more present over here. We must have missed it," Grace said, and handed the glittery blue box to her daughter.
"Who is that from?" Harry asked.
"I have no idea," Grace replied.
Aurora opened the box and looked at the gold necklace sitting inside. Her eyes lit up as she surveyed the small pendant.
A gold filigree tree sat inside a circle surrounded by Celtic knots. In the center of the tree was a bear paw that had a tiny green stone embedded in the pad.
"Mama, it's so pretty! Can I put it on? Please?"
The fog of sleepiness had left the little girl, and now she was jumping up and down with excitement as Grace removed the necklace from its box.
Under the tray that held the chain in place, there was a card.
This should fit
just right
Grace lifted the card out and handed it to Harry with a questioning look.
"I'm sure it's just a gift from one of the nymphs or something," he said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Mama, put it on me!" Aurora said, holding up her golden hair and jumping up and down.
"Okay, okay, Curly. Stand still for ten seconds so I can put it on." She unclasped the necklace and slipped it around Aurora's neck. She joined the clasp and turned the girl around. "There. You look gorgeous, my dahling."
"Thank you, Mama! I love it!" The little girl ran out of the room to the bathroom so she could see her pretty new necklace in the mirror.
Grace and Harold collapsed onto the couch, both of them exhausted from the events of the day.
"She had a good day, didn't she?" Grace asked.
"Yeah, I think she did," Harry said, and he kissed her forehead.
"I wish my mom was here."
"I know, honey. I do, too."
"I just wish I knew that she was all right. I wish I could talk to her and sit with her and hear her tell me that I'm doing a good job."
Harry knew his only job at that time was to be there and hold Grace until she felt better. She always seemed a little sad around Aurora's birthday.
"It'll pass, Harry. I know she's gone, but I still miss her, you know."
"I do know, babe. I do."
"Well, let us see if we can get Curly to sleep, shall we?"
"Ha! You might need a magic spell to accomplish that," Harry chuckled.
"Well, let's try for a bath first. Tiny steps."
They headed into the bathroom to get Aurora's bath started. When they walked in, she was standing at the mirror, still staring at her new necklace.
"Hey there, Curly. Time for your bath."
"Okay, Mom. Can I keep my necklace on?"
"I don't see why not," Grace replied while she added some bubbles to the warm water.
"I don't want to ever take it off," Aurora said, getting her bath towel and pajamas ready.
"Never, ever?" Grace said, reaching over and tickling her daughter's tummy.
"Nope. Never, ever, ever!" Aurora giggled.
"Okay then, get yourself all clean. Wash behind your ears and make sure you get that curly head of yours all spotless."
"I will, Mama."
Grace left, leaving the door cracked open. She waited in her bedroom until Aurora called out to her. The little princess came running down the hall wearing her cartoon pajamas, waving her hairbrush in her small hand.
After hair was brushed and a story was read, Grace tucked her little one under the covers and kissed her goodnight. Harry came in as Grace was getting up to say goodnight as well.
"Hey there, Curly, look what I brought." He held out the stuffed bear she had just received for her birthday and placed it next to her bed.
"Thanks Daddy." She sat up to give him a hug and kiss goodnight.
"We love you so much, little girl. You know that, right?"
"I love you, Daddy and I love you, Mommy and I love you, Frederick the Bear."
"Frederick?"
"Yep. His name is Frederick the Bear."
"All right, goodnight then, Frederick the Bear," Harry said with a smile. "Ready for lights out?"
"Yep!"
"Hey Aurora, what do you think about going camping this weekend?"
She looked at her dad with wide eyes and motioned him to lean in close so she could whisper in his ear. He leaned in close, cocking his head to hear her secret. She held her hands up around her mouth and said in a loud whisper, "That was my wish, Daddy!"
"Well, then, I guess it came true. We'll get up early tomorrow to get ready, okay?"
"Yay," she cheered.
"All right, time to get some sleep. See you later, alligator."
"After a while, crocodile," she giggled.
"See you soon, baboon."
"Okie dokie, artichokey." The little girl burst into laughter. "You are silly, Dad!"
"Nighty-night, Curly."
He closed the door and smiled to himself, wondering how he got so lucky.