Chapter 422: Shannon’s Birthday [3]

Shannon refused to get off my back until Carmen called her name from the kitchen.

"Shannon. Let Ryan breathe."

"I am not heavy," Shannon argued, though she slid off anyway.

"You are not," I said.

She looked at me with a pleased smile.

Marlon snorted from behind us. "Do not encourage her."

"She is the birthday girl," Molly said. "She is allowed to be annoying today."

"I am not annoying!" Shannon protested.

Molly only laughed and reached into the gift bag she had brought. "Then maybe I should take this back."

Shannon’s eyes widened.

"No! I mean... I am sorry."

"Too late."

"Molly!"

The living room filled with laughter, even Marlon letting out a low amused sound while Shannon tried to take the bag from Molly’s hands. For a few seconds, the house felt full in a way I had not seen it before. Not crowded exactly. Just alive.

Carmen came in from the kitchen, wiping flour from her fingers on a cloth.

"Do not give her the gifts yet," she said. "Wait until after dinner."

"But Mom—"

"After dinner."

Shannon’s shoulders dropped.

"Fine..."

Carmen smiled and walked over to adjust one of the balloons that had started drooping near the ceiling. It was tied to a garland above the entrance to the kitchen, but the tape had already begun peeling away from the old wall.

"It is a little much," Carmen said, looking around the room.

"It is not," Shannon replied immediately.

"It is definitely too much," Maribel muttered.

I looked around.

There were balloons in almost every corner, garlands across the ceiling, paper stars taped to the walls, and a large banner that read Happy Birthday Shannon! slightly crooked above the table.

"It is fine," I said. "It looks good."

Shannon pointed at me with a victorious smile.

"See?"

Maribel crossed her arms, but I caught the small smile she tried to hide.

Marlon stepped toward the wall beside the front door and looked up at a balloon that had been taped near the light fixture.

"Who put that one there?" he asked.

"I did," Shannon said.

"It is going to fall."

"It will not."

The balloon chose that moment to come loose.

It bounced off Marlon’s shoulder and rolled across the floor.

Nobody said anything for a second.

Then Molly laughed so hard she had to cover her mouth. Shannon stared at the balloon like it had personally betrayed her, while Marlon looked down at it with the same serious expression he used during training.

"I told you," he said.

"Shut up," Shannon mumbled.

"Language," Carmen warned.

Marlon bent down, picked the balloon up, and handed it back to Shannon.

"Put it somewhere it will stay."

Shannon took it with a huff and marched over to the other side of the room. Maribel followed her after a few seconds, helping her choose a better place near the window.

I watched them for a moment.

Maribel was different around Shannon. Not entirely relaxed, but softer. She still answered most of Shannon’s questions with short replies, and she acted like every compliment embarrassed her, but she let Shannon drag her from one part of the room to another without complaining much.

I was still trying not to look at her too often.

The red dress made that difficult.

"Ryan."

I turned around.

Summer stood a few feet away, holding a stack of plates against her chest. She had not looked at me much since arriving, and when she did, it was only for a second before her eyes moved somewhere else.

"Can you put these on the table?" she asked.

"Y...yeah. Of course."

She handed them to me.

Our fingers touched briefly around the edge of the plates. Summer pulled her hand back first.

Now that hurt a bit.

I took the plates to the table without saying anything else.

Carmen had covered it with a clean cloth. It did not match the chairs, and there were a few repaired spots near the edges, but it was clean. Someone had placed candles in the middle, though none had been lit yet. The gift bags sat on a side table beneath the window, where Shannon kept glancing at them whenever she thought Carmen was not watching.

Molly walked over beside me while I placed the plates down.

"You did a good job with the decorations," she said.

"Maribel did most of the balloons."

"Still. It is nice seeing people do things like this again."

I nodded.

Molly picked up one of the paper stars that had fallen onto the floor and turned it over in her hands.

"Summer, can you bring the bowls?"

"Coming."

Summer disappeared back inside.

Marlon had moved near the window, one hand resting against the curtain as he looked outside. He had not opened it. He probably did not want light spilling out farther than necessary. The Boardwalk was safer than most places, but nobody had gotten careless enough to pretend the walls protected us from everything.

"Everything clear?" I asked him laughing.

"For now," he replied.

"For now does not sound reassuring."

"It is not meant to."

Marlon looked back at me.

"Rico sent a man from the Golden Nugget before I came here. Nothing has happened there. No scouts. No message from Callighan. No trouble."

"That is what worries me," I said.

"It should."

His answer was simple. Not comforting, but honest.

Then Carmen came out carrying a large pot with both hands, and Marlon stepped away from the window without another word.

"Dinner," Carmen announced.

Shannon ran toward the table so fast that she nearly knocked over one of the chairs.

"Careful," Carmen said.

"I am careful!"

"You almost ran into the table."

"But I did not."

"That does not count as being careful."

Everyone started taking seats.

Carmen sat at one end of the table, with Shannon beside her. Molly sat on Carmen’s other side, already helping serve the food before Carmen could tell her not to. Marlon took the chair closest to the window, likely because he could keep an eye on the room and the street outside from there.

Maribel sat across from me.

Summer sat beside Maribel.

I sat down slowly, trying to act normal.

Carmen had made a large pot of stew with potatoes, beans, carrots, and bits of meat that I could not identify. It smelled amazing anyway. There was bread too, cut into uneven pieces and wrapped in cloth to keep it warm.

Shannon stared at the food like she had not eaten in a week.

"Can we start now?" she asked.

Carmen looked around the table.

"Everyone has something?"

Molly lifted her bowl. "I do."

Marlon gave a short nod.

Maribel had already taken bread.

Summer quietly reached for her spoon.

Carmen smiled.

"Then eat."

Shannon did not need to be told twice.

She scooped up a spoonful of stew, blew on it once, then put it straight into her mouth and immediately made a face.

"Hot!"

Marlon looked at her. "You blew on it once."

"It looked ready!"

"That is not how heat works."

That old man sure likes to tease Shannon a lot.

Shannon glared at him while Molly laughed again.

The food was good. Better than good. Carmen could make nearly anything edible, and tonight she had clearly spent time on it. The stew was thick, the vegetables soft, the meat seasoned enough that nobody cared where it had come from.

For the first few minutes, people focused on eating.

Then Shannon started talking. As usual she was the one holding most conversations.

I looked down at my bowl.

The conversation kept going around me, but I only caught parts of it. Molly talking to Carmen about repairs near the old pharmacy. Marlon answering a question about the Golden Nugget without saying much. Shannon asking whether she could have a dog if they found one somewhere.

"No," Carmen said.

"Yes," Shannon said.

"No."

"What if it is small?"

"No."

"What if it is sad?"

"Still no."

"What if it likes me?"

"Shannon."

She slumped against her chair.

"You are cruel."

Carmen reached over and brushed a crumb from Shannon’s cheek.

"I am keeping you alive. There is a difference."

The words made the table quiet for a second.

I mean, if the dog gets Infected, god, I had really bad memories about the last Infected dog I faced.

Shannon looked up at her mother and sulked.

"I know."

Carmen smiled back.

After dinner, Molly helped Carmen clear the bowls while Shannon tried to drag everyone toward the gifts.

"Cake first," Carmen said.

Shannon froze.

Her eyes went wide.

"The cake is ready?"

"It should be."

Carmen disappeared into the kitchen with Summer right behind her. I watched Summer go, then stood up before I could think too much.

"I can help."

Carmen looked at me from the kitchen doorway.

"Bring the candles from the table."

"Okay."

I collected the small box of candles and followed them inside.

The kitchen was warmer than the rest of the house because of the wood stove. Carmen had opened the stove door, and orange light flickered over the metal tray resting inside. The cake was not perfect. It was a little uneven, with a darker edge on one side where the heat had caught it.

But it smelled sweet.

Real sweet.

Summer was standing near the counter, holding a cloth while Carmen carefully lifted the tray out.

"Do not touch it yet," Carmen told me. "Put the candles there."

I set the box down.

For a few seconds, it was only the three of us.

Summer kept her attention on the counter.

I knew I needed to say something. Not everything. Not in front of Carmen. But at least something.

"Summer," I started.

She went still.

Carmen looked between us, then picked up the tray.

"Ryan, take this to the table," she said, her tone gentle but firm. "Summer, bring the matches."

Summer moved past me toward the drawer without looking up.

I picked up the tray carefully.

The cake was warm through the metal. The smell followed me out of the kitchen as I carried it into the living room, and Shannon immediately jumped up from her chair.

"Is that it?"

"Sit down," Carmen called behind me.

Shannon sat so fast that her chair scraped loudly across the floor.

Molly clapped once, smiling. Maribel leaned back in her chair to make room as I placed the tray at the center of the table. Carmen came out a second later, and Summer followed with the matches.

Carmen placed the candles into the cake one by one.

There were not enough for Shannon’s full age, so she used a few taller ones in the middle and smaller ones around them. It did not matter. Shannon watched every candle go in as if Carmen were building something magical.

When Summer lit them, the tiny flames flickered across everyone’s faces.

Carmen began singing first.

The others joined in.

Even Marlon sang, though quietly and without much effort. Shannon was also happily clapping her hands laughing.

"Make a wish," Carmen said gently.

Shannon squeezed her eyes shut.

"And not about marrying Ryan."

I froze slightly in embarrassment.

Marlon glared at me especially.

That judging gaze really hurt.

"I know, mom!" Shannon also blushed surprisingly embarrassed.

For several seconds, she did not move.

Then she leaned forward and blew.

The flames went out together.

Everyone clapped, and Shannon laughed, looking around the room at Carmen, Molly, Marlon, Summer, Maribel, and me.

For that brief moment, she looked like a girl having an ordinary birthday.

I guess this birthday was really better than I had initially imagined.