“Captain Thunder knows when people lie.”
The magician looked at the drawing.
“Then I am in serious trouble.”
The musicians began to play softly, not the bright rehearsed song from earlier, but a simple rhythm Ethan could tap against his wheel.
One caterer placed paper and pencils on the empty tables.
Another removed the antique china before it could be broken.
The garden changed without anyone formally deciding to change it.
Perfection loosened its grip.
A linen cloth slipped crookedly from one table.
A balloon escaped its ribbon and lodged in a tree.
Maya put a sugar star on Captain Thunder’s drawing and left a smear of frosting across the corner.
For the first time that day, the party looked as though children had been there.
When the cake was brought forward, Ethan studied the white layers.
“It is still vanilla,” he said.
“I know,” William replied.
Maya leaned toward the pastry chef.
“Can you cover one slice in chocolate?”
The chef considered the question as though negotiating a complicated contract.
Then he disappeared into the service tent and returned with a bowl of warm chocolate glaze.
He poured it over a thick slice until the vanilla could no longer be seen.
Ethan looked at William.
“That works.”
William lit nine candles before Mrs.
Collins gently removed one.
“Eight, sir.”
William stared at the extra candle in his fingers.
He had approved the order, checked the guest list, and reviewed the entertainment schedule, yet he had nearly placed the wrong number on his own son’s cake.
Maya noticed.
She did not laugh at him.
She simply held out her hand.
William gave her the candle, and she tucked it into her backpack.
“For next year,” she said.
Everyone gathered around Ethan.
There were no classmates in the garden, only adults who had spent the morning witnessing his humiliation and one uninvited girl with chocolate on her sleeve.
William began singing.
The staff joined him.
The musicians played quietly beneath their voices.
Ethan closed his eyes.
Before he blew out the candles, Maya covered William’s mouth with one hand.
“You cannot ask his wish,” she warned.
“I know the rule.”
“You look like someone who asks too many questions.”
Ethan smiled, took a breath, and blew.
All eight flames disappeared.
Later, while Maya and Ethan finished Captain Thunder’s first adventure, William sat across from them on the grass.
His trousers were stained at the knees.
He could not remember the last time he had sat on the ground at his own home.
“May I ask you something, Maya?”
She looked suspicious.
“Is it about the wish?”
“No.
Why did you come through the gate?”
She shrugged.
“I saw the balloons.”
“You did not know Ethan.”
“No.”
