Page 10 of Mariah

Mariah sat up in bed and opened her eyes to find her friends and Baze gathered around her bed, serenading her. They were all holding brightly colored packages with fancy bows.

She was instantly wide awake as she smiled and clapped her hands in delight. “You guys!” she squealed. “Thank you! What a wonderful way to wake up!”

“Open mine first!” Margo nudged her way to the front of the group and flopped onto the bed, shoving a square box with orange paper into Mariah’s hands.

“You wrapped it in my favorite color!” Mariah exclaimed, trying to remember the last time she’d gotten a wrapped package on her birthday. When they’d been squatting in the penthouse, before Baze found them, the girls had always tried to make each other’s birthdays special, but wrapping paper was an unnecessary expense—if there were even gifts to unwrap.

“Open it! Open it!” Margo cried, having no patience for Mariah’s slow appreciation of the moment.

Mariah picked the edge of a piece of tape and undid it carefully before turning the box and starting to undo the other side.

“It’s a new apron! This one is cow print because of Mario!” Margo cried, naming Mariah’s favorite stuffed animal.

“Margo!” Jilly exclaimed. “You’re supposed to let her open it, not just tell her what’s inside. So she can take her time and savor the day.”

“Sooorrryy,” Margo sang sheepishly.

Mariah giggled, finished unwrapping and pulled the apron out of the box. It was indeed cow print with her name embroidered on the front in bright orange lettering. “Thank you! It’s perfect! I love it!” she cried, throwing her arms around Margo and smashing her into a hug.

“Open mine next!” Jilly bounced up and down excitedly, holding out another brightly wrapped package with a shiny bow. “Open mine next!”

“What happened to slow down and let her savor the day?” Margo snarked in a teasing tone.

“She can savor the day and also unwrap a little more quickly,” Baze answered, stepping in before an argument could start. “After all, she has a lot of presents to open, and we have a fun and busy day planned. Plus, we all still need to get dressed and head down to breakfast.”

Breakfast! Mariah gasped as she remembered Chef Graham’s promise to make her favorite, eggs benedict and home fries for her birthday. Her stomach growled and she ripped open Jilly’s present, suddenly much more eager to get her day started.

After Jilly’s gift, a beautiful 300-piece puzzle of a farm scene that reminded her of home, she opened an orange tutu and matching boa from Luna, a new sippy cup and blanky from Tessa and Ellie, and a collection of storybooks from Jade.

“Well, that’s about it,” Baze said, peeling back her covers and engulfing her in a warm hug. “It’s time to get our day started.”

“Daddy!” Luna cried, crossing her arms. “What about your presents?”

Baze sat on the edge of her bed and looked from Luna to Mariah with a smirk. “She can open those later. Spread the celebration over the course of the day,” he explained with a wink.

More than happy with that plan, Mariah jumped out of bed. She could already almost taste salty home fries dripping with a mixture of lemony hollandaise and runny egg yolks. She was almost more excited about that than she was about whatever Baze had planned even though it was sure to be amazing.

“C’mon everybody! Let’s move! It’s my birthday!” she cried, running to her closet to grab her favorite fancy outfit. Even though she knew Chef Graham wasn’t interested in her in that way, her heart skipped a beat wondering what he’d think when he saw her dressed in her orange sequin dress with the ruffled diaper cover and white shrug. She hoped he liked it.

When they got downstairs to the conference room outside the kitchen that they used as a cafeteria, Chef Graham wasn’t there. Nobody was. The kitchen was closed, and the buffet that usually held the day’s offerings was lined with plastic dispensers full of an assortment of sugary cereals and a large carafe of milk.

“Ooh, cereal bar!” Margo cried, running ahead. “Best day ever! Y’all should have birthdays more often!”

The other girls cheered and ran to the buffet, grabbing bowls and loading them up with their favorite breakfast cereal. Mariah was crushed. Where was Chef Graham? Where were her eggs benedict and home fries? Things had been awkward the past few days and she’d come to terms with the fact that he wasn’t Daddy material—or at least that he wasn’t interested in being Daddy material—but she’d never expected him to go back on a promise. She’d thought better of him than that.

The thought twisted around in her brain until a new one emerged. What if something had happened to him? What if he was sick or had a family emergency, or what if he had an accident and was in the hospital? Did he even have a car here? She didn’t think so, but she wasn’t sure.

She sucked in a breath to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall when Baze came up beside her. “What’s wrong, Miss Mariah? Don’t you like your birthday surprise? You guys are always asking for sugary cereals and YOYO mornings, so when Chef Graham asked for the morning off, I figured this would be a nice treat.”

The information that Graham was indeed fine and had asked for the morning off hit her like a sucker punch to the gut. On one hand she was glad he was okay, and on the other, she was hurt and disappointed. She’d really thought of him as a stand-up guy, and she’d thought he’d at least liked her in a work capacity. Tears pricked the corners of her eyelids and she blinked them away.

“Mariah,” Baze prodded beside her. “Aren’t you going to eat? It’s a special treat and I’ve got a really fun day planned.”

“Oh right. Sorry.” Her mind still racing, she looked up at Baze and forced a smile. “I was just thinking I can’t remember the last time I had a birthday this nice. Thank you, truly.” The words she spoke and the sentiment behind them were real but the smile was fake. Not only was she sad and mad about Chef Graham not making the special menu she’d been expecting, cereal days were meant to be enjoyed on the couch while watching cartoons, but she wasn’t about to tell Baze that. She walked to the buffet and poured herself a small bowl of the sugariest cereal that was offered and sat with her friends. They were all smiles and giggles and whispers about what Baze might have planned for the rest of the day. It was hard to look around the table and be anything but abundantly grateful so she pushed her sadness aside and joined in the guessing games.

“Mini golf!” Margo guessed excitedly.

“Shopping spree!” Luna cried.