Chapter 9 - The Family Table
On Nell’s third birthday, the sun shone warm and bright over the backyard of Dr. Eleanor Vance’s house in Shadyside.
The lawn was decorated with pink and white balloons, long streamers hanging from the porch, and a giant wooden table filled with cupcakes, fruit platters, and a three-tiered birthday cake shaped like a fairy castle.
Around the table sat the people who formed Nell’s world: Marina, her aunt Eleanor, Bernice—who had become a permanent, cherished grandmother figure to Nell—and several families from Nell’s playgroup.
At 3:00 PM, Adam walked through the back gate carrying a giant wrapped box.
"Daddy!" Nell shrieked, dropping her bubble wand and sprinting across the grass as fast as her little legs could carry her.
Adam dropped the heavy box onto the grass, caught Nell mid-air, and spun her around in a wide circle, her laughter filling the sunny garden.
"Happy Birthday, my little princess!" Adam laughed, kissing her cheek.
Marina walked over, handing Adam a paper cup of cold lemonade. "You made it right on time."
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Adam said, setting Nell back on her feet so she could run off to show her friends the giant gift box.
Bernice walked over, resting her hands on her hips, looking at Adam with her sharp, square-shouldered gaze. She looked at him for five long seconds, then offered a rare, warm nod of genuine approval.
"You brought the right kind of gift today, Adam," Bernice said softly.
Adam smiled, looking at the older woman who had once stood in an empty kitchen and dismantled his arrogance with a blue notebook.
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"What kind is that, Bernice?" Adam asked.
"Presence," Bernice replied, tapping her chest. "The only kind that stays when the party’s over."
