#fotoflash: Birthday Girl

Here is my contribution to this week’s Friday Fotoflash Challenge…
Oh, and today IS my birthday!

It was supposed to have been a special day. She’d showered and dressed carefully in her best dress and shoes. She assumed her best behavior at breakfast, managing to ignore the taunts of the other foster kids. At school she had skipped recess, staying indoors to help the teacher.

She knew, she just KNEW there would be a surprise party when she got home. After all, she was thirteen and was no longer a child. Surely they would want to recognize that. Right?

She was the first kid home so she started her chores. There were no signs of a celebration but they were probably hidden in her foster parents’ room. No one was allowed in there except their own son. He was in college now and didn’t come home except for holidays.

One by one, they kids came in and like her, they scattered about to finish all their chores before dinner. The front door slammed and kids scurried everywhere, disappearing before they were noticed. It was her job to cook dinner with one of the other girls, so there was no escape.

But that was okay, it was her birthday. He wouldn’t bother her, she wasn’t a child anymore. She was a teenager. But she still kept her head down as he came in and asked what was for dinner.

Dinner came and went, still no signs of celebration. Her foster mother went into her bedroom to watch television after all the younger kids were put to bed. He was watching a boxing match on the set in the living room.

She let out a huge sigh as she put away the last of the dishes and walked towards her bedroom. He grabbed her wrist and stopped her. “Get me another beer.”

She held back a sob as she realized no one remembered it was her birthday. No one cared. She got his beer and trudged to the bedroom she shared with the five other kids.

The lamp on the dresser was still on but was draped in a scarf of some sort to dim the light. She tiptoed in, thinking they were all asleep.

The quiet whispers of “SURPRISE!” and “Happy Birthday!” brought tears to her eyes. There were hand blown balloons bouncing around the beds and the youngest of them brought out a somewhat crumpled cupcake with a gumdrop on top. He whispered, “Can’t do no candle but I gots ya’ a gummy.”

She kissed his cheek after brushing away her tears. Someone did remember.