It won’t do any harm to keep the kitten just this one night, she told herself. She’d do the responsible thing tomorrow and take her to the animal shelter, but tonight she could be the kitten’s hero.

Rounding the corner, Zoe skidded into the kitchen with a giant smile on her face. Mom, Dad, and Alex were already at the table with their plates of cake: a center square for Dad, only frosting and filling for Mom, and a wad of cake that looked like he’d clawed it out with his bare hands for Alex. They’d left the cake itself on the counter. It was vanilla with raspberry filling, decorated with clusters of pink and purple roses, and it looked as if it had been gnawed on by a beaver. Fetching a plate, Zoe scraped off several clumps of roses.

“You look happy,” Dad noted. “Did you have a good birthday?”

“Very good.” She carried her plate to the table.

“Get everything you wanted?” Mom asked.

“No one gave me a pony,” Zoe said. She thought again of the kitten hidden in her room. It would have been a great birthday present. If there were any chance they’d say yes . . . But there isn’t. They’d been very clear about no more rescues. “Or a jetpack,” she added.

“Or a teleporter,” Alex said cheerfully.

“Or a dinosaur,” Zoe said.

“Not a single mystical object.”

“Not one enchanted sword. Or a lightsaber.”

“I want a lightsaber,” Alex agreed.

“You’d cut your arm off,” Mom told him, then asked Zoe, “Do you like the necklace Aunt Evelyn gave you?” Her eyes were twinkling, and Dad snorted a half-disguised laugh.

“It’s amazing,” Zoe said honestly. The necklace in question was made of rhinestone letters that spelled out the word FUN. She was certain if you tried to find a necklace that tacky and absurd, you’d fail. “I’m going to wear it ironically to every funeral, final exam, and dentist appointment for the rest of my life.”

Dad beamed at her. “I love that we raised a daughter who uses the word ironically correctly.” Leaning over toward Mom, he held out his hand for a high-five. She slapped it.

Alex raised his eyebrows. “Did they just high-five their parenting skills?”

“I think they did,” Zoe said.

Alex regarded their parents with mock pity and said to Zoe, “Do you want to break the news about how badly they did, or should I?”

Zoe heaved a sigh. “Earlier today, during the party . . .” She paused for dramatic effect. “Alex ate a potato chip that fell on the ground.”

“But surely . . .” Dad said, his voice trembling, “he only let it sit for five seconds.”

Zoe covered her face as if in shame. “It was ten seconds!”

Dad wailed. “The horror!”

They all burst out laughing.