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He looked at the empty page.
“Let’s make the list.”
I nodded.
“Pool draining and cleaning.”
He wrote it down.
“New filters.”
“Two replacement lounge chairs.”
“Professional house cleaning.”
“Carpet treatment.”
“Fence repainting.”
“Landscaping.”
“Replacement wedding-gift salad bowl.”
Glenn looked at the list.
Then he added one more line.
“Emotional damage to Musk, the cat.”
I looked at him.
“Musk cannot submit invoices.”
Glenn pointed toward the stairs.
Musk was sitting there, watching us with the expression of someone who had personally experienced betrayal.
“He suffered.”
I looked at our cat.
He calmly cleaned one paw.
“He seems to be recovering.”
“That’s what they all say.”
I laughed despite myself.
That was the thing about Glenn.
Even when he was angry, he could still make me smile.
But the next morning, we had a much bigger plan.
If Marie believed family meant sharing, then we would show her exactly what sharing looked like.
Glenn picked up his phone.
“What are you doing?”
“Inviting family.”
I looked at him.
Then he opened the family group chat.
He typed:
TOMMY’S BIRTHDAY CONTINUES!
Venue: Our house.
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Big surprise planned. Please bring the kids!
The replies came almost instantly.
Grandma sent six balloon emojis.
Uncle Leonard replied:
“Should I bring my swim trunks?”
Glenn immediately typed back:
Front yard only.
A minute later, Leonard responded:
“Why?”
Glenn looked at me.
“Should I tell him?”
“No.”
“Probably better.”
Then we got to work.
I started making calls.
The funny thing about planning a party is that people assume it takes weeks.
But when you have enough motivation, you can move surprisingly fast.
A bounce house company had a cancellation that afternoon.
A bakery was able to make a dinosaur-themed cake.
A face painter was available.
And then Glenn found a magician.
His name was Sebastian.
According to his website, he provided “45 minutes of wonder and approximately five minutes of confusion.”
Glenn looked at me.
“That sounds perfect.”
By noon, our front yard looked completely different.
It was almost ridiculous how quickly everything changed.
A giant green bounce house stood on one side of the lawn.
Colorful balloons decorated the porch.
A long table was covered with snacks.
The bakery delivered a huge cake shaped like a volcano with a dinosaur standing on top.
A banner stretched between two trees.
It read:
HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY, TOMMY!
And unlike the previous party, everything was actually planned.
Everything was clean.
Everything was organized.
Everything was paid for.
At 12:55, cars started arriving.
Children ran toward the bounce house.
Grandma stepped out carrying a wrapped present so large it looked like it needed its own seatbelt.
Uncle Leonard arrived wearing swim shorts.
Glenn looked at him.
“Seriously?”
Leonard looked toward the backyard.
“So the pool is ready?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Glenn crossed his arms.
“Wildlife issue.”
I looked at him.
He shrugged.
“Technically, children are mammals.”
I covered my smile.
Even in revenge, Glenn somehow stayed polite.
At exactly 1:00 p.m., Marie arrived.
Her car pulled into the driveway.
Tommy jumped out first.
The second he saw the decorations, his entire face lit up.
“Mom!”
He pointed.
“Another party!”
He ran toward the bounce house.
For a moment, Marie looked happy.
Then she stepped out of the car.
And she saw me.
I was standing beside a folding table.
On top of it was a blue folder.
Her smile slowly disappeared.
She walked toward me.
“What are you doing?”
I ignored the question and smiled at Tommy.
“Happy birthday, sweetheart.”
He grinned.
“Thank you!”
Then he ran back toward the other kids.
Marie lowered her voice.
“Bessie.”
I looked at her.
“Yes?”
She looked around.
“What is all this?”
I smiled.
“Your son’s birthday party.”
Her eyebrows pulled together.
“His birthday is over.”
“Then consider this an encore.”
She stared at me.
“You can’t organize a party for my child without asking me.”
I tilted my head.
The irony was almost too perfect.
“That would be inappropriate, wouldn’t it?”
Behind me, Glenn covered a laugh with a cough.
Even Sebastian, who was preparing his magic tricks nearby, seemed to sense the tension.
He pulled three colorful scarves from his sleeve.
Then accidentally dropped an entire pack of gum.
Nobody said anything.
Marie looked around at everyone.
“Who invited everyone?”
“Glenn.”
She immediately turned toward her brother.
“Glenn?”
He smiled.
“You said family should share, sister.”
Her face tightened.
Then came the question I knew she was going to ask.
“Who is paying for this?”
There it was.
The question she had never asked when she was using our home.
I picked up the blue folder.
“I thought you might want to know.”
I handed it to her.
She opened it.
The first section contained every repair estimate.
Pool cleaning.
Replacement equipment.
Furniture repairs.
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