"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, dear Karen! Happy Birthday to you!" Karen smiled as Cailyn sat on her lap and everyone sang to her.
"Make a wish, Karebear!" Jack said from across the table, making silly faces at Cailyn.
Karen closed her eyes and thought of her wish. "Got it. Ready, Cay? You gonna help Mommy blow out the candles?"
Cailyn nodded and took in a deep breath, making a fish face. Karen giggled at the expression on her daughter's face.
"One, two, three….blow!"
Once all the candles had been blown out and Karen had cut the first piece, Marilyn took the cake into the kitchen to begin slicing it for the rest of them. Karen fed herself and Cailyn simultaneously, all of them chatting about what had been going on, when the topic of Stanley came up. Karen put her fork down, a piece of Cailyn's cake still sitting on it. She could feel everyone's eyes on her when Jack spoke up.
"You know what Cay? How about we go and get your present for Mommy from the living room?"
She nodded and hopped off of Karen's lap. Karen still hadn't spoken and the tension in the room was heavy enough to cut with a knife.
"Um, well, Will and I took Cailyn to the zoo with Stanley on Thursday. And I think we're going out to lunch on Monday afternoon."
"How did it go, Karen?" George asked, trying not to pry too much.
"And if you don't feel like talking about it, that's fine." Marilyn added.
Karen smiled at George and Marilyn. They were like grandparents to Cailyn, and they treated her accordingly.
"It went fine. I didn't tell her who Stan was, I think it would only confuse her. God only knows if Stanley is going to disappear again, and I don't want to explain to her that her father is gone……again. Cailyn thinks that Will is her daddy, and that's the way things are going to stay for now."
Everyone lowered their gaze from Karen, feeling awful for making her talk about the difficult situation she was in. Just then, Jack and Cailyn came back into the dining room, holding a present for Karen. Cailyn walked over to her mother and handed her the gift before climbing back into her lap.
"Is this for me?" Karen asked.
Cailyn nodded. "Mommy birthday!"
Karen smiled and kissed her daughter's forehead. "Yes it is, thank you sweetie."
Opening the gift, Karen saw the familiar blue of a Tiffany box. As she peered inside, she saw the most beautiful locket. She took the necklace out and twirled it in her hands. Looking inside the locket, on one side was a picture of Cailyn and on the other side, her name was engraved along with her birthday.
"This is beautiful. I love it!" Karen said as she fastened the clasp behind her neck. "Who took you to the store, Cay?"
Cailyn pointed at Jack. "Unc Ja!"
Putting Cailyn on Will's lap for a minute, Karen walked over and gave Jack a hug and kiss. "Thank you, Poodle. I love it." She whispered in his ear.
Sitting back down, Cailyn crawled into her lap and continued to pick at Karen's cake. They all moved into the living room and gave Karen the rest of their gifts. Her daughter sat in her lap, helping Karen open her gifts, and playing with every ribbon that passed through her little hands. After another hour or so, Cailyn fell asleep while she and Grace had been playing, what else, peek-a-boo. The group said their goodbyes and headed back to the city, Karen sitting next to her daughter in the backseat. Stroking her cheek, Karen took notice of just how much she looked like Stan, and thoughts of what she was going to do on Monday came flooding into her mind.
