Page 35

Arabella was carrying a small, gift-wrapped parcel and when she got close enough, handed it to me, her light blue eyes lit up with a friendly smile. She was even prettier in real life than on the television.
“What’s this?”
“Something the kids made for your birthday.”
“Oh, no way!”
“Yes, but don’t open it here. It’s going to make you cry.”
“Aww, thank you. Okay, what do you say, guys?”
They all said thank you for having them, grabbed their packs from near the veranda, and followed me out to Doris. Once we’d piled in, I held the present in my lap, glancing in the rear-view mirror at the eager faces of my three younger siblings. “It’s really gonna make me cry?”
“Yep,” Ariel asserted with confidence from the front passenger seat.
Drawing in a deep breath, I said, “Here goes nothing, then.” Less than a minute later, my eyes were brimming with happy tears. “You guys…this is just…so…” I hugged the photo frame to my chest for a moment, trying not to lose it. “You used one of the photos from your own album?”
Belle nodded, her eyes shining with pride. “It’s my favorite one, so I wanted you to have it.” A year earlier, Ariel and I had put together a little album for Belle to take to school, to help her get over her anxiety on her first day. We’d updated it a few times since, because it went everywhere with her.
She’d chosen a picture of all five of us, crowded into a booth at the diner. We were sharing an enormous plate of ice cream, smothered in candy, broken biscuits pieces and rivers of syrup. All four kids had ice cream all over their faces and were grinning at the camera.
There was a pattern painted on the wooden frame and I traced it with my fingertip, trying to make it out. “What’s this?”
“Our fingerprints.”
I gasped, shooting Florian a quick glance in the mirror. I could see it now, little oval shapes overlapping each other all around the frame. “It’s so amazing.”
“Me and Tee made the frame.”
“No! Did you, really?” I was so impressed, so overwhelmed, that it didn’t even occur to me to correct his grammar. “You are so clever. I love it. Thank you.”
“Can I show you what else I did?” Belle was bouncing in her seat with excitement.
“Yes, please!”
As quick as a flash, she was pulling reams of paper from her backpack. “Wow, Belle, that is alotof artwork! Did you do anything else all weekend?”
“Not really. Bella said I’m a really good artist, and she loved painting with me. I liked it a lot.”
“That’s great. What about you two?”
“We did everything they let us do.” Tiana shoved her fingers through her hair, grimacing with annoyance at how out of control it was. “We were so good at the horse riding they let us go by ourselves.”
“What? Amazing!”
“And I won the obstacle course twice.”
“Champion!” I grinned, before turning to Ariel. “What about you?” She’d been quiet throughout and I was worried she hadn’t enjoyed herself.
“I liked the horse riding, and I did a bit of artwork too. But I really liked the cooking.”
“Seriously? Since when?” I was teasing, and she grinned back.
“The kitchen is amazing, and Sylvia taught us how to make apple pie. It was really yummy. Can I try at home?”
“Hell, yes, you can. And speaking of, how about we head there now, or we’ll end up sleeping here again. Belts on.” I turned the key in the ignition while the kids hustled to put their belts on. Shit. Whatever that clunking noise was, was getting worse. And now the motor wouldn’t turn over. I quickly glanced at Ariel, noticed her anxious expression, and said, “It’s fine.” I tried again, pumping the accelerator as I turned the key, begging the car to start. It did. Thank fuck. “See?” I smiled at Ariel, but as always, she saw straight through me.
“Did you have a good birthday?”