MIRACLE

STANDING AT THE FRONT DOOR. I’m not sure if I can tell Ginny and Bill what happened in Cassidy’s class.

Not sure I know how.

I open up and walk in. I look over at the kitchen. There are balloons. Ginny and Bill have set out pizzas and sodas and ice cream. It’s like a corny little-kid party. I guess they had an idea about what was going on at school and they wanted to celebrate or something.

Ginny and Bill walk in the room. They don’t say anything to me. Ginny just looks over at Gilbert and says, “Hit it, Gil!”

The bird starts singing, Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you …

It’s my birthday.

Ginny and Bill join in with Happy birthday, dear Sa-am, happy birthday to you. Bill pats me on the back. Ginny makes me kiss her cheeks again.

“Thanks” is all I can say.

“Thank your cousin,” my grandma says. “He worked hard on that.”

I walk toward the cage but before I can thank Gilbert, he screeches, “HELLO, SAM!”

Hello, Sam?

I know I heard that wrong.

Then he says it again.

“HELLO, SAM.”

I freeze in my tracks and drop to the floor laughing. I can’t stop. For the first time since the day I moved in here, he doesn’t say it.

He didn’t say it!

“Hello, Gilbert! How the hell are you, you … you beautiful parrot-cousin? You don’t know how happy I am to see you today! Have I told you lately that I love you, man?”

I catch a look at myself in the framed mirror my grandma has hanging in the living room.

I look happy.

We all gather around the table to have our little party. My grandma hands me a plate full of pizza and asks, “How was school today, Samuel?” She casually tosses the question out as she passes Bill the pepper.

“It was okay…”

“Really, Sam?”

“No.”

“Oh,” she sighs. “That’s too bad.”

I look down at my plate of pizza, then up at Ginny’s sad eyes.

I gotta tell her.

“It was the best day I’ve had at school. I wish you guys could have been there.”

“That is something, Sam.” She closes her eyes, smiling. Reaches over and puts her hand on mine for a second. “That is really something.”

Bill busts out, “Sam, have a slice of pizza! You’re going to starve. Eat as much as you want. We got plenty! This slice is loaded with pepperoni. Here!”

“All right, all right, I’ll eat.” I’m laughing like a dumbass.

We all sit there eating, a bunch of grinning idiots.

It’s really nice for a while.

Then I get this thing.

From down deep.

The twinge of wanting …

I try to shake it off because this little party is perfect just the way it is.

But it’s hard to fight the twinge.

I concentrate on smiling and thanking my grandparents for nothing in particular.

Or for everything.

When the pizzas and ice cream are gone, I go to my room and do some math homework.

Figure I might just give McClean a heart attack.