December 2032

"Dad, can you do me a favor tomorrow?" Iris asked Sheldon.

"That depends. What is it?" He replied to his eleven-year-old daughter.

"Mom's birthday is in two days. Halley is coming over tomorrow afternoon. Can you get mom out of the house for a few hours? I want to make a birthday cake for her."

Sheldon nodded in response. "Sure. I'll ask Penny to take her out for the afternoon. What's Halley doing for her birthday?"

"She's going out with some of her friends. She asked if I wanted to join them, but it's a little weird to be hanging out with a bunch of high schoolers since I'm so much younger than them. That's why she's coming over tomorrow. Ooh, maybe we can make cupcakes instead of cake so Halley and I can have some right away," Iris thought aloud.

"I've got plans with the guys tomorrow afternoon. If Penny takes Mom out for a few hours, you and Halley will be here alone. Will you be responsible and not destroy the kitchen with your baking project?"

Rolling her eyes, Iris replied, "Yes, Dad. We've baked together before and haven't destroyed the kitchen. We'll be fine for a few hours. I think if Aunt Penny can keep her away for two to three hours, that'd be great. I've got something else planned for her actual birthday on Sunday, but I think she'll be surprised when she gets back tomorrow afternoon."

"I'm not one hundred percent comfortable with the idea of you girls baking without an adult here, but I guess it will be fine. After all, Halley will be sixteen in two days. She'll be able to operate a motor vehicle without a licensed driver in the front seat, I guess she can operate our oven," Sheldon ceded to his daughter.

Smiling, Iris started to run upstairs before turning back, "Thanks, Dad. Please don't tell Aunt Penny why I want Mom out of the house so she doesn't tell Mom."

"Sure," Sheldon nodded before going back to what he was working on.

Amy picked up her purse as Bernadette waited near the door. Bernadette had dropped off Halley for her afternoon with Iris and was picking up Amy to go out with Penny. "Are you sure you girls don't want to come out with us? I think we're getting lunch and going shopping. We can celebrate both of our birthdays, Halley." Amy tried to persuade the girls against staying home.

"Iris and I have something we want to work on this afternoon. Maybe next time? Or can everyone come over for dinner tonight? We haven't all had dinner together in forever," Halley suggested.

Bernadette shrugged, "I'm okay with that if Amy is, it's their house, after all. I can let the guys know if Amy's up for everyone coming over."

"Sounds good to me. It has been a long time since we've all been together. I like the way you think, Halley," Amy agreed to the last-minute dinner plan. "Have fun with whatever you two are up to this afternoon. Text me if you need anything."

Waiting for their mothers to leave, Iris watched Bernadette's car back down the driveway before going to the kitchen and pulling cupcake supplies from the cabinets. "My mom knows we're making cupcakes for Aunt Amy's birthday. She's going to let us know when they're on their way back so we can have everything cleaned up. Don't worry. She promised to not say what we're doing," Halley said as they began to mix the cupcakes.

"She'll be able to smell them when she comes in, but Dad said we can hide them in the den until it's time to bring them out. He closed the door before he left so she won't notice it's closed when she gets back."

"Happy Birthday, Amy," Sheldon whispered the next morning.

Amy smiled before even opening her eyes. "Thank you," she answered sleepily. "Can we stay in bed all day? It's so cozy and we haven't had a lazy weekend since over the summer."

"That sounds like a great way to spend your birthday. All Iris wants to do lately on weekends is sleep in and play on her tablet. I'm sure she won't care."

The couple was able to stay in bed for almost another hour before their daughter was knocking on the door. "Seriously? She's up early today?" Amy groaned. "Come in, Iris."

"Happy Birthday, Mom!" Iris exclaimed as she stood in the doorway before Amy motioned for her to enter the room all the way. "What are we doing for your birthday, today?"

"Nothing. We're having a lazy day. You know the drill- staying in our pajamas, napping, and ordering take out. Now come here," Sheldon motioned for Iris to join them.

Grimacing, Iris replied, "That sound good, but I kind of did something and you need to come downstairs."

Flipping the covers back, Amy was annoyed with Iris for the second time that morning. "What did you do? Why are you up so early? It's a Sunday, you're never up before ten on weekends."

"Don't be upset with me. I think you'll like why you need to come downstairs. I'd have brought it up to you, but Dad doesn't allow food upstairs. I made you breakfast for your birthday. It's probably getting cold. It's just scrambled eggs and toast, but those are the only breakfast foods I'm allowed to cook by myself. I made enough for all of us. I'll even clean up after we're all done eating," Iris explained as she pulled Amy by the arm towards the door.

Finishing the surprise breakfast, Amy looked at her family and smiled. Sheldon noticed and asked, "What are you smiling about? No one has said anything in six minutes."

"Just thinking about all my birthdays when I was younger and my birthday wishes were to have a family and be happy. This is nothing like I thought it'd be; it's so much better than I ever could have imagined. Thank you, to both of you, for making my birthday wishes come true," Amy shared.