"How would you like to come to a birthday party?"
Jennifer was walking back from the barn with Katherine and Sarah when she posed the question. She had been coming out to the farm several times a week for the past three weeks, and she'd discussed the idea with their parents first. Whatever reaction she'd expected to her question, however, the blank stares that Katherine and Sarah were giving her weren't it. Jennifer knew from Tim and Mary that they had "selected" birth dates for both girls when they'd entered Eden. It was a question that came up on the census forms that were filled out when entering the settlement. So Jennifer knew the girls were familiar with the concept of birthdays. She silently reminded herself of how she hadn't understood the concept when the guys first brought it up to her, either.
"What is it?" Sarah's nature was to question, Jennifer had learned. She was a little less blunt than Katherine, but was still prone to using a tone or a phrase that would make people who weren't aware of her background a little uncomfortable. And her natural curiosity about everyone and everything around her couldn't be quelled.
"Well, my friend Mark's birthday is in a few days, and we're having a big dinner to celebrate. We'll eat together – Lottie will even make a cake – and he'll open his presents." Still blank stares. "It's mainly a reason to come together and spend time with people you care about."
"They aren't people we care about," Katherine pointed out. "We don't know them." There was the bluntness. Jennifer addressed the confusion first – she'd work on the etiquette later.
"Well, you do know some of us. You know me –"
"We care about you," Sarah said simply. "You've been able to answer a lot of our questions."
Jennifer smiled down at her as they neared the farmhouse. "I care about you, as well," she said, laying a hand on the girl's shoulder. She suspected that hugs from anyone but their parents were a little too much to handle at the moment. "That's why I wanted to invite you. I think you'd enjoy it. Besides, you do know several people who will be there. Colonel Tucker will be there, and so will my friend Kelly. You remember – she came out and gave you two check-ups last week."
"She was nice," Sarah commented. "But will there be other people we don't know?"
"Yes, there will. Mark, for one – he's the birthday guy. And a few others. A friend of mine will be there with his grandchildren. Wouldn't it be nice to spend some time with other people closer to your age? In fact, Sarah, Hannah is in the same grade as you in school."
Sarah's eyes narrowed. "What if she doesn't like me? What if she asks about where I was from before we came here? Mother says we need to be careful around other people."
"Well, for the record, your mother and father would be coming as well. And I doubt Hannah would ask you where you were from the first time she met you. For most kids, that's a subject that wouldn't come up until they knew you a little better."
"Do I have to stay if I don't like it?"
Jennifer gave in and chuckled. "No, I'm sure that if you were that unhappy, your parents would leave early and bring you home." When Sarah seemed content with her exit plan, should she need it, Jennifer turned to Katherine. "What do you think, Katherine?" The older girl was quiet for a few moments, but Jennifer could tell she was trying to sort something out. "What is it, Katherine? You know you can ask me."
"What is the point of celebrating a specific day?" Katherine looked into Jennifer's eyes, confusion on her face. "Mother talked about birthday parties she used to go to once, and how they used to be fun for her. Father has told us stories about holidays that he spent with his family. While I can see that gathering with people you care about could be enjoyable, what makes those days more special than the others?" She shook her head and sighed. "Days like that were obviously important to my parents at one time. I just don't understand."
Jennifer just smiled. She couldn't help it this time – she gently laid an arm around each girl's shoulder, watching carefully for signs of discomfort. "Oh, you two remind me so much of me when I first started this journey," she said. "I asked so many of the same questions you are asking now."
"Father says I ask so many questions that I'm going to run out of room to store all the answers in my brain some day," Sarah said simply.
"He's teasing you, Sarah. Remember, that's something people do when they care about each other. None of us – your parents, me, Colonel Tucker – want you to stop asking questions. Because sometimes we forget that there's so much you haven't experienced." She sat down on the grass not far from the door and patted the ground beside her, indicating that the girls should sit, too. "Let's see…holidays and birthdays. You're right – they are important to people. And you're also right that they're a time to gather with people you care about. It's a time to share a special meal, and sometimes to give people a gift that shows them how special they are to you. But it's more than that, too. Lots of people, especially these days, don't have the means to give gifts or have special meals." She paused for a moment, wanting to choose her words carefully. "When I had the same questions you do, my friend Scout told me that birthdays were important because they were reminders that we're alive. We're still here, despite everything Dread has thrown at us. Just that simple fact is a reason to be happy. And when people are happy, it's natural to want to share that happiness with other people."
Katherine stared at her silently for a moment. Jennifer knew the behavior by now – she was simply considering what she'd been told, turning it over in her mind and deciding whether or not it seemed valid to her. The fact that she hadn't said anything yet told Jennifer she wasn't convinced. "Special days like this also help us celebrate being human," Jennifer said simply. "Dread wanted to take that away from us. He wanted us to believe that being human was a curse, not a blessing. He didn't want us to know how happy we could be just sharing a meal with friends and family, or how connected we could feel to others when we shared a tradition.
"So, what do you say, Katherine? Would you like to go to your first birthday party?" Jennifer paused until she saw Katherine start to nod her head.
"I think I would enjoy another victory against Dread," she said simply.
Inside the house, just out of sight but able to hear the conversation on her lawn, Mary smiled to herself. Jennifer had been out to the farm almost every other day since her first visit, and those visits had come to mean a lot to the girls - and therefore to Mary and Tim. Not that she didn't worry - the situation with Jennifer and the Council scared Mary to the point where she sometimes didn't want to let the girls out of her sight, let alone into town. She knew, logically, that she couldn't do that. But she was their mother in every sense of the word except giving birth to them, and she loved them fiercely. She didn't want them to go through any more pain than they already had. Jennifer was helping them through so many of the things that confused them because she'd already been through them.
Mary was fiercely proud of her girls for how hard they'd worked, and how far they'd come. But this young woman was bringing them even farther. Mary knew that Jennifer longed to go home, and she hoped that the powers that be would see reason soon and let her go. But a part of her knew that every day Jennifer Chase was in Eden was another day her girls could grow.
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"Kelly!" Kelly's head rose from the monitor she was watching at the nurse's station. It was three hours before the end of her shift – why was Jennifer running down the hallway towards her? She hadn't been back to the hospital since she'd been dismissed…
"Kelly, she's going to do it! She's going to sponsor my petition! They're finally going to listen to me!"
A wide grin spread across Kelly's face. "Jen, that's wonderful! You finally got through to one of them!" She threw her arms around her friend and hugged her tightly, then noticed the looks they were getting from other staff members. "Come in here and tell me all about it," she said, pulling Jennifer into an empty room and shutting the door. "Now, spill. Who did you have an appointment with today?"
"Councilwoman Chambers – Rebecca Chambers. She wasn't there for the original vote, and she'd been so hard to get an appointment with. She admitted to me that she didn't want to get involved at first. But she listened – she really listened – and she thinks the others need to hear the whole story, too. She's pretty certain that no one really debated the original decision. She said all Stanton would have had to do was say it needed to be done and he'd have had a majority vote. I get the feeling she's not a big fan of his."
"Finally – a Council member with some sense."
Jennifer laughed out loud. "She actually apologized for being so hard to get in touch with. She said that one of the other Council members had asked her if she'd spoken to me yet – apparently, someone else is having doubts. Chambers didn't say who it was, but the fact that someone else was willing to consider my side of the story convinced her she needed to see me. I was there for two hours – I told her much more than I'd told the others. We wrote up the paperwork for the official petition, and she gave me some suggestions for what I needed to emphasize when I talk to the Council. She really believes I'm going to get there, Kelly. She's sure of it, in fact." Jennifer's eyes were wide, and she couldn't seem to stop smiling. "She said that they would probably set a hearing date within the next two days. That means they should hear my case within the next few weeks!"
"Jen, that's fantastic! We need to celebrate – I can't wait to tell Mark when he gets back from his run this evening. We'll tell him we have a belated birthday present for him," she laughed.
"I wish I'd have been able to get word to Jon – it'll be a whole week before he reads the letter I'll write him tonight."
"Whenever he reads it, he'll be excited. This is finally it, Jen – it's the first step to going home." Kelly hugged her friend again, then opened the door to the room. "Unfortunately, I have a few more hours before I get off, but once I do I'll head right to Vi's. You go home and share the good news."
As Jennifer fairly flew back down the hallway, Kelly couldn't help but notice the smiles she garnered from the people she passed. She was almost vibrating with happiness – Kelly hadn't seen her like this since the day they'd been packing up the ship when she thought she was going home. It was impossible not to smile back at her. Tonight's meal would be full of hope and excitement. Kelly glanced at her watch…maybe she could come up with an excuse to go visit Sam down in PT. He'd want to hear the good news as well. Things were finally looking up for their friend.