She kissed us on our foreheads, then put on her coat. We heard the Bee crank to life and drive away, spitting gravel behind it.

“Hurry,” I said. I rinsed the dishes and put everything on the drying rack. When I was finished I climbed up on the counter to reach the highest shelf where the matches were kept. My parents never actually purchased matches. My dad would just always grab a handful of free packs from diners and bring them home. I shoved two matchbooks into my pocket, then started looking for candles but couldn’t find any.

Joel remembered that he’d seen some candles in the Christmas ornament box in the back room and ran off to get them. He returned with a single long white candle that tapered into a point. “It’s all there is,” he said.

I grabbed a cake cutter, utensils, and three small plastic plates while Joel retrieved his homemade birthday card. We put on our coats and went out to the garage.

Joel was impressed by the size of my gift. “What’s in the box?”

“You’ll see.”

I carried the box, plates, and utensils. Joel carried the cake.

The snow had been blown in tall banks nearly halfway up the side of the clubhouse. Grace had pushed the snow away from the door to keep from being sealed inside. Outside the clubhouse, I set everything down and shoved the candle halfway into the cake. Then I knocked on the wall. “We’re here.”

“Come in,” Grace sang.

I climbed in and Joel handed me the cake. I left the big box outside the door. As usual Grace was wearing her coat. “What a storm,” I said.

“I almost got snowed in.”

She stared at the cake.

“Happy Birthday!” Joel said as he crawled in. He actually crawled right over to Grace and handed her his card. “I made you this,” he said proudly. It bothered me that he’d gotten to her first.

She smiled. “Thanks, Joel.” She opened his card. He’d drawn a picture of a girl in a box beneath the words, Happy Birthday Grays.

“That’s a picture of you,” he said. “Your nose isn’t really that big. I just don’t draw that good.”

“Thank you.” She opened the card. “Wow, a real Joe DiMaggio card. That’s so special.”

“You know who that is?” I asked.

“Of course. This is a very special card.” She turned to Joel. “Thank you, Joel. I’ll always treasure it.” Then she hugged him.

She was just being nice, I told myself. But she looked pretty happy. Joel looked pretty happy too.

“I brought a cake,” I said. I handed her the cake. “It’s all chocolate. The frosting and everything. I bought it. Myself.”

“Thank you, Eric.”

“We could only find one candle,” I said.

“Can I light it?” Joel asked.

Joel was really getting on my nerves.

“Sure,” Grace said.