Juliette gasped when the cake dropped off the counter. Her mama, Olivia, had baked it for her papa's birthday. Papa was supposed to be coming home soon, and Juliette was starting to panic, especially when she heard footsteps coming down the hall.
"Juliette?" her mama called, and she quickly stood in front of the cake.
"Hi mama," she smiled.
"What are you doing in here? Are you trying to sneak a piece of your papa's cake?"
"No..."
"Juliette Olivia, you tell your mama the truth."
She stepped to the side and revealed the cake, looking sheepish. "I was just trying to look at it, mama..."
"I worked all day on that cake for your papa, Juliette. How am I supposed to make him another one this late?"
Juliette sniffled. "I'm sorry, mama. I didn't mean to ruin papa's cake."
Olivia picked up her daughter and hugged her. "It's all right, love. We'll just have to hide this one from papa. We'll say I left it on the window to cool and some birds ate it, okay?"
"Okay mama."
Olivia quickly got rid of the cake, and soon enough Nostradamus was coming home.
"Papa!" Juliette screamed happily, running toward her father with open arms.
He picked her up and threw her in the air, causing her to happily scream again. "Hello, princess. Did you have a good day?"
"Yes, papa. Happy birthday!" she smiled and kissed his cheek.
"Thank you, princess. Where's my birthday kiss from my wife?"
Olivia laughed and kissed her husband. "Happy birthday, love."
"Thank you. Dinner smells good."
"Thank you; it's your favorite."
"You didn't have to do that. You made my cake."
"About that..."
"What?"
"Birds ate your cake. I put it on the window to cool and by the time it did, they had already pecked at it and it was ruined. I'm sorry, love."
Nostradamus smiled. "Don't worry about it. These things happen, and there's always next year."
They had a wonderful dinner, and Nostradamus played with his daughter until bedtime. Although, Olivia couldn't help but feel smug about where she hid the cake. Where she put it, he won't smell it. Unless he's a good husband.