Chapter 13 - My Thirty-Ninth Birthday
My thirty-ninth birthday was small.
Dad.
Rachel.
Friends.
No giant party.
No expensive decorations.
No performance.
Dad brought the cake.
He had written something on it.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TROUBLEMAKER.
I laughed.
“You're seventy. Grow up.”
“Never.”
When it was time to blow out the candles, everyone waited.
I closed my eyes.
For years, birthdays had been wishes.
That year, I didn't need one.
I already had what I wanted.
Safety.
Choice.
Peace.
I blew out the candles.
Dad kissed my forehead.
“Happy birthday.”
Two ordinary words.
They almost broke my heart.
May you like
Because once, Ryan had replaced them with a slap.
Now kindness had made them sacred again.
