Nathaniel arrived early and helped tape paper stars to the windows.

He had learned to ask where things should go.

When Hazel changed her mind about the cake candles, he didn’t argue.

When Rose spilled glitter, he found a broom.

At one point the girls stood before the cake with their hands linked.

I looked across the table at Nathaniel and remembered that airplane, the way he had inspected my clothes and imagined he understood what my life had become.

The girls shouted their wish before anyone could remind them to keep it secret.