“Actually, I don’t want to speak for you, I want to speak to you.” He looked at Sammy. “Can we go out of order?”

“Just make it quick or we’ll run out of time.”

“Okay, okay.” Jake rubbed his hands together. “I just want to say thank you for being my father. And unlike most fathers, you had a choice of whether or not to adopt Sam and me—”

“He didn’t have a choice,” Rina blurted out. Everyone laughed. “I would have killed him if he said no.”

“Can I wax a little sentimental, please?”

“You, sentimental?” Cindy said.

“Yes, even I have a soft side. What I was trying to say is that you came into our lives—Sammy and me—after a rather dicey situation. I remember…when I first met you…thinking that you had to be the coolest guy on earth.”

“Boy, did that change quickly,” Decker said.

“Actually, it didn’t.” Jacob bit his lip. “You’re still way up there in the cool factor. Just thanks for being there for me and Sammy and Eema at a difficult time.” He looked at Cindy. “Your kids are going to be major cool. They’ve got coolness on both sides.”

“Thank you, Yonkie.”

“Happy birthday, Dad.” He turned to Sammy. “Is that quick enough?”

“Unusually abbreviated.” Sammy paused. “I guess it’s my turn. So here goes. You might not have had a choice to adopt us, Dad, but you certainly had a choice to be a father or not. And you aced that test. You’re not our biological father, but in terms of blood, sweat, and tears, you certainly are our real father. And even though I’m Ashkenaz, I’m really happy that you’re getting one of your grandsons named after you. It’s a well-deserved honor.”

Decker kissed his sons and hugged them fiercely. “Thank you, boys.”

Everyone looked at Hannah. “Well, with this red hair, I guess there’s no doubt that you are my biological father. I’m really excited about going to Israel and college, but I know I’ll miss you and Eema soooo much. You’d better visit me a lot.” Her eyes got wet and tears ran down her cheeks. “I love you so much, Abba. Happy birthday.”

Decker gave her a bear hug. “I love you, Pumpkin. And we will visit you a lot.”

“Well, I guess I’m next,” Rina said. “I’ll keep it brief as well. I don’t want to get all mushy in front of the kids, but I’ve been so blessed to spend these years married to someone I love so much. I’ve also been blessed to have this wonderful family, including my beautiful stepdaughter and son-in-law and my grandsons-to-be. Peter, I love you very much and I’m counting on many more years for us to be together. I’ve always been very proud of you. You are simply the best.”