“We were so jet-lagged when we arrived I don’t remember any of the scenery,” said Fiona.

“Look at the sandstone cliffs,” said Natasha. “Pigeon guillemot nest there.”

It seemed odd as they approached Shoreline to suddenly be in traffic after not seeing real traffic for months. There were large grocery stores and gas stations, cars whizzing this way and that.

Miss Webster turned into a strip mall and parked. “Look, Marlin. Shoreline has a whole store dedicated to cake decorating.”

MISS MAISIE’S CAKES it said on a sign over the store.

Marlin couldn’t contain her glee, leaping out and running to the door before the others could pile out.

Miss Webster laughed and said, “Well, I guess that was a success.”

As Marlin went up and down the aisles, the others browsed all the cakes and cake posters on display.

“We have cake-decorating classes every Thursday,” said a woman in an apron printed with cupcakes.

“Are you Miss Maisie?” asked Charlie.

“I am!” said the woman, laughing. “Are you a cake decorator?”

“Not me, my sister,” said Charlie, pointing to Marlin, who was picking up and putting down bottles and reading labels.

Fiona found a chance to sidle over to Marlin and whisper, “Don’t forget, Miss Webster is paying for this so don’t get greedy.”

“What do you take me for?” growled Marlin.

“I don’t want to put a damper on your birthday,” said Fiona. “But Mom would say that if she were here. You know she would.”

“Don’t worry,” whispered Marlin. “You’re not the only one brought up with manners.”

“I know,” said Fiona, and went off to pretend to be interested in the sprinkles section and then really became interested as Miss Maisie had fifty kinds.

“Okay,” Marlin said finally when she’d perused everything. “I want this. It’s the really good kind of food coloring I was reading about. You put a tiny dab into the icing with a toothpick and get good saturation.”

“Just this?” said Miss Webster. “Oh, Marlin, you don’t know how to have a birthday!” And Miss Webster got a basket and said, “Here, fill it. Get the things you think we can’t find at Walmart. You can probably get extracts there, and some cake-decorating things, but the fancy stuff we should get here.”

So Marlin, shrugging at Fiona as if to say, well, I tried, put in not everything she wanted, but enough things that it seemed a reasonable haul, and Miss Webster took it to the front and paid for it.

“Onward!” said Miss Webster.

At Walmart Miss Webster not only bought more cake-decorating tools and a cupcake tree, cupcake papers in many colors, sprinkles of all sorts, and a special wheel that you put a cake on so you could turn it to ice it, she also insisted on buying the girls new sneakers.

“We can’t let you do this,” said Fiona as Miss Webster helped Charlie find the right size.

“You can,” said Miss Webster. “And you will. First of all, when I was in your position, I survived only because I had a lot of help and I promised someday to pay it forward so that’s what today is. Payday. And I have another reason for wanting to do this today which you’ll find out tomorrow,” she added enigmatically.