"All right, guys," I whispered, "just wait 'til I give the signal." There was a giggle from Max, but the surrounding people immediately shushed her.

It was about two to three days since Mom's hospital emergency, and basically my whole family-Mom, Jace, Victor, Max, Case, Krit, Syl, Brin, Charlie, and I-were gathered behind the kitchen counter as we waited in anticipation. The lights in the apartment were shut off as the early evening arrived. Only candlelight from the kitchen table kept the room fairly lit.

Suddenly the door handle turned, and I hissed for everyone to be quiet. Dad stepped into the room, called, "'Lanza? Max?", and then turned on the light.

When he finally turned on the light, all of us jumped up, screaming and yelling happily, "Surprise!" Max grabbed a handful of paper confetti and threw it in the air, so that we were all covered in it. Jace and Victor both blew on party horns

Dad obviously didn't see what the surprise was about and, as he plucked confetti out of his hair, eyed me cautiously like a police officer would do to a burglar suspect. "'Lanza, what's going on here?"

"Look, Dad," I pointed over to the table where a magnificent cake adorned with candles sat. "It's yours."

"Mine? What for? Is this some kind of trick?"

I laughed. "Dad, it's your birthday."

"My birthday? That was about a week or two ago. Besides, who told you?"

"Mom."

"Max?" Dad surprisingly laughed too. "I can't believe you told her!"

"She was asking," Mom replied, shrugging her shoulders. "Now, get over here and have some cake. It's chocolate-"

"-with nuts and extra sprinkles," Syl offered helpfully. "We all know how you have that weakness for chocolate."

"I do?" Dad asked, pulling off his coat and flopping it over a chair before sitting down. "Since when?"

"Since you ate my chocolate bunny at Easter," I answered as Mom pushed the cake towards Dad.

"It was Max!" Dad accused.

"Uh-huh, blame it always on me," Mom groaned sarcastically. "Now blow all of these out."

"All forty-one!" Syl cried from behind me.

"Don't remind me…" Dad complained.

For a moment, we all watched in anticipation as Dad stared at the gleaming flames. I realized then that perhaps the candles reminded him of the fire back at Manticore. But, I dismissed the fear, and held my breath as he inhaled to blow out all forty-one candles. It was going to be quite a feat.

"You got a wish in mind?" Charlie asked just before Dad exhaled.

Dad paused, thought, then nodded. I wondered if he still had the same wish that was in his mind that night a long month and a half ago. I could picture the scene in my mind easily and felt anticipation burn in my stomach. This was supposed to be a happy occasion, not one to worry about the past. Even Dad was happy.

Then, why couldn't I forget?

"I was in Phoenix a couple weeks ago," he began and took a sip from the bottle. "While I was there, I heard about this really bad car crash. I mean, really bad. Apparently, some guy had gotten over in the wrong lane and hit somebody else head-on, causing them both to spin into a nearby ditch full of water-"

"What does this have to do with a wish?" I asked him.

"I'm getting to that.

"Anyhow, I was in the area at the time, only about a half a mile from where it happened. So, I went over to investigate, just for the hell of it-y'know? Both of the people were dead from head injuries. One of them was a girl, not far off from your age. And the other? I didn't get his whole name, but later found out that it was an old guy with the name D. Lydecker."

I froze, not sure of what to say. My mouth suddenly felt very dry and pasty, like someone had swabbed it out with a cloth. I swallowed before asking, "And your wish?"

"I know it's cruel, but sometimes I wish I could've been the one to kill the bastard," he replied with a hoarse laugh as he took another swig of the beer.

I eyed Dad closely, the moment frozen in time, thinking to myself, Are you still going to make that same wish, Dad? Is that what you're really wishing for? Or is it something better?

Finally, with a big gush of air, he blew out all of the candles, scattering smoke across the room. Max, standing on the other side of the cake with her arm linked with Case's, pretended to gag on the smoke.

"I can't breathe over here! Smoke inhalation! I'm going to die!"

"We'll have Case give you mouth to mouth," Krit laughed, just as Case turned a furious shade of red, blushing with embarrassment. Max merely giggled at the comment and gave Case a peck on the cheek.

"Well, then, let's cut this cake," Jace said, leaning over to cut it as Dad pushed his chair out of the way. He turned to Mom, who was standing on my other side with me in the middle. Arching an eyebrow, a cocky look that I hadn't seen before in Dad came over his face.

"Max?"

"Yeah, Zack?"
"Do I get a birthday kiss?"

For a moment, I truly thought she was going to slap him across the face. Apparently, so did he. Dad backed away nervously, laughing timidly.

"Just kidding, Max, just kidding."

"No. C'mere."

"What the-" he began, but was cut off as Mom kissed him. She clasped his face in her hands, and they both stiffened. They didn't pull away for a long time, and I wondered what kind of ocean Mom was swimming in. Perhaps one of sweet flavor just like strawberry jam.

Releasing him, they met eye-to-eye and I saw their faces soften, remembering what they had had so many years ago. Finally, Dad cleared his throat, throwing them out of their trances and Mom whispered, "Happy Birthday, Zack."

We loaded ourselves up on cake and cheap cola that Krit and Syl had managed to buy from an unnamed place. By the time the gooey, delicious cake that had been smothered in Hershey's Cocoa frosting was gone, we were all belching from the bubbly cola, but, in truth, no one really cared.

I was using my finger to finish off the rest of the frosting left on my plate when there was a tap on my arm. Looking up, I saw Case beside me. "I need to talk to you," he whispered under his breath although no one would have heard him above the noise anyhow.

Glancing over, I saw that Max was detained with Krit and Syl. All three were laughing until their faces turned blue. Setting my plate down, I followed Case to where he dragged me into the bathroom.

He locked the door and waited a moment before turning on the light. His eyes were shifty and he couldn't decide between sitting on the toilet or standing up.

"Uh, what's up with the bathroom?" I asked suspiciously, seeing his discomfort.

"I don't want anyone to hear me."

"Hear you do what? Sit on the pot and look like an idiot? What's wrong? Case, you can tell me. C'mon, something's bugging you, I tell it," I said to him, sitting down in an Indian-style on the floor beside his feet.

"Nobody knows this yet. Well, nobody besides Max and me, that is."

"Not even James?"

"Not even James. I need a…well, a female opinion on this. Max refuses to admit to it, and James won't know how to handle it."

"So shoot."

"Okay," he sighed, then laid his hands out like he was offering me something. "Here's the deal: God…I so do not want to talk about this…but, anyhow, have you noticed that Max has been putting on a little weight lately?"

I shook my head.

"Well, she has. She denies it, of course, saying that it's just because she's been eating more, but that's not it."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I live with her, after all, I would see if she's been eating more."

"Good point," I commented.

"But, anyhow," he sighed heavily, puffing his cheeks out and blowing air out that fluffed his hair upwards, "Alanza, how should I say it?"

"Like this: Alanza, yadda, yadda, yippa, yippa. Now start talking, I got to give Dad his present, plus I'm afraid there might be no more cake for seconds."

"That was good cake."

"You're telling me."

"I got a present to give him too," Case answered, rising to his feet. I grabbed him by the knee and forcefully shoved him back down into a sitting position.

"And where are you going?"

"Cake?" he asked innocently.

"No. C'mon, Case, just please tell me what's up."

"Max is pregnant."

There was long pause before either of us said anything. At first I was almost sure that I had made it up and this was just some scary dream. (Hello? Dad being fairly normal happy? Yep, that's a nightmare right there.) But, finally, I spoke up, clearing my throat before doing so.

"Excuse me?"

"She's pregnant."

"You're kidding-right?"

"No."

"How'd it happen?"

"How do you think it happened?"

"Oh," I replied.

"She doesn't seem to think so. Thinks I'm making it all up."

"Why?"

"I don't know. She's taken, what?, three pregnancies tests all that came up positive. She says they're faulty." Case shrugged. "I was hoping you could talk to her about it."

"Me?"

"You're her best friend."

"You're her live-in-boyfriend."

"You're a girl."

"Ok, I can't argue with you about that one…unless you have some secret lifestyle you've kept hidden from us all this time."

"Alanza…"

"Just kidding. But, yeah, I'll talk to her 'bout it." I leaned back against the shower, wrapping my arms around my now tucked-up knees. "Wow. A baby. That's so cool."

"I don't want to keep it."

"Why?"

"Alanza, you of all people, are asking why an X5 baby shouldn't be kept?"

"You're only part X5, though."

"Still, you take one-half, plus one-half, which equals one. It'll still be screwed up more than we can imagine. I don't want it to live the life we've lived. Freak. Weirdo. Monkey." He shook his head, exasperated with the thought. "People are cruel."

"Max's told me."

He eyed me suspiciously. "You'll talk to her, then?"

"Yeah, Case, I will. Look, if you don't want the baby, maybe I can adopt it."

Case shook his head fervently, refusing my offer, but not verbally saying it. We both knew that that wasn't possible. Maybe he could get rid of the baby, but the guilt would always be there. He had lost a parent, and I believed that he didn't want his child to lose one as well.

Then, he smiled sadly, trying to be happy as his mixed up mind screamed odd and senseless directions at him. "Well, then, let's go see if there's seconds, shall we? Plus, there's presents, and, knowing Zack, we're going to have to strap him down and force them on him." He sighed. "Your dad is so stubborn."

I shook my head. "So are you Case, so are you."