“Go. Have some fun with Jessie.” Tristin shooed her daughter away.
“We can go get Ella, too. She’s my new sister. She’s been kinda sick and we can’t tire her out so be careful, okay?”
“Okay.”
Charlotte raced off with Jessie to the corner where little Ella stood with her mother Megan. She’d recently married Reid and was a bit shy about fitting in, but Ava had spent some time with her and she was so warm and caring that Ava knew she would be accepted without a problem.
Jessie held out her hand and Ella accepted it. Jessie pulled the younger girl who had a gaunt face, but bright eyes behind her to the refreshment table, where Barbie had started to put candles in the large sheet cake.
Tristin sighed in contentment. “Seeing her coming alive again is even better news for me. I hope as I continue to improve, she won’t always be thinking she needs to stay by my side, worried if I need her help.”
Jessie scampered back to them and skidded to a stop by Ava, her rubber-soled shoes squealing on the hardwood. “C’mon, Ava. We’re gonna light the candles, and you haveta blow them out.”
Ava squeezed the child’s hand and went over to join the girls and Barbie, where a plethora of candles were burning on the cake.
“It’s overkill,” Barbie said. “But I thought since this was your first party ever, you should be able to blow out the right number of candles.”
“Thirty-two of them. I counted. That’s like a lot!”
People close by laughed, but Jessie looked confused.
“It is indeed a lot,” Ava said.
Jessie peered up at Ava. “Since this is your first party, and you don’t know how to blow out candles, and you havesomany of them, I can help you.”
“Jess,” Reid said. “Let Ava do this herself.”
Ava hugged Jessie to her side. “I’m glad for the help.”
“Yippee!”
“Charlotte and Ella, do you want to help too?”
They both gave timid nods.
Ava went to them and put her arm around Charlotte’s shoulders, then moved Ella in front of her and rested her other arm around Jessie. The four of them bent over the cake.
“On the count of three, you all blow and everyone else sing,” Barbie announced. “One. Two. Three.”
Ava’s heart was so full of love and joy that she blew with everything she was made of, and so did the girls. The song blessed her more than anyone could know. But God knew her heart. He was listening and hearing her thankfulness in the prayer she offered up.
The candles whispered out, smoke rising into the room. The guests clapped, and Ava could feel the affection in their eager, smiling faces.
“I can never thank you all enough for coming to my first ever birthday party,” she said in the sudden silence. “It’s just like I imagined it would be. Well, except there are a few more candles on my cake.” She laughed to keep her tears at bay.
They joined in, and the room filled with laughter, soothing every bit of her unease over being the center of attention.
Barbie handed Ava a slice of rich chocolate cake with fluffy white frosting then gave cake to the girls. Ava took a large bite and basked in her guests’ caring as one by one they came to get cake and wish her well.
She’d felt God’s love over the years, but never human love like this. How much she’d missed out on for so long, but thankfully she had God all those years. And now she was blessed beyond belief that this room was full of amazing people who took time out of their lives to wish her well.
Barbie circled an arm around Ava’s shoulders. “I hope this party is everything you hoped for.”
“That and so much more, and I can’t thank you enough for making a little girl’s dreams come true. I feel like I finally have a family.”
“And one who will be here for when you need us.” She nodded at Micha, who was hanging back but watching them. “And I suspect this guy wants to make that more permanent.”
“You think so?”
