𝐁𝐎𝐘𝐈𝐒𝐇// 𝐄𝐃𝐃𝐈𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐗𝐎𝐂

𝐱𝐢. ✭𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐄

OCTOBER, 1977; CHANCE

"Happy Birthday to you!" Daddy and I ended the song as we sang into Eddie's ear. The flames from his birthday candles made his eyes flicker before he puffed up his cheeks and blew them out.

"Congratulations!" Wayne raised his beer, goofily tipping his hat toward his nephew. "Big number ten, Eds!"

The entire trailer was decorated up that night. I had made sure of it. I wanted Eddie to have the best birthday ever, going all out with streamers, party hats, signs, and a small banner I had made myself. They were all red, his favorite color.

Daddy pulled the double chocolate cake I had made toward himself, cutting it into equal pieces. He placed each one on a cheap paper plate, enlisting me for help in passing them around. It was an easy job. The only people at our trailer that night were us four.

Parties were small when children didn't have friends to invite. That was alright though. Eddie and I had each other's company; that was all we needed.

"Here, Eddie." I slid his piece over to him, nestling against him in our trailer's dinner table booth. "You gotta take the first bite since it's your birthday."

"Eat up, Eds." Daddy patted his back encouragingly, handing him a fork.

"Okay, okay." Eddie folded without any protest, sampling the cake to please me. His eyes widened the second he shoved the fork into his mouth. Giddiness rushed my pulse and I wished he'd hurry up and say something. A smile crept up his face and Eddie turned to me stating. "It's good!"

I threw my arms around him, squeezing him tightly until birthday giggles popped out. "Oh, I knew you'd like it!"

"Tastes great, Chancie." Looking over, I saw that Daddy had cake stuck in his mustache. "You must've made it with love."

"Sure did," I beamed triumphantly, slipping off my party hat. "But mostly with a lot of chocolate chips." My joke earned a chuckle from everyone in the room and they all dug further into the confectionary treat I made.

Background Music
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-My Cherie Amour by Stevie Wonder-
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As we ate, Stevie Wonder's voice melodically rang out from the radio set up on the kitchen counter."La, la, la, la, la, la..."

"Oh, oh!" Daddy wiped his face off with a crumpled napkin as he pointed madly at the radio. "Turn it up, Wayne!" Being the closest, Wayne reached over and rolled the knob to blast out Stevie's song. My daddy slid out of the booth, swaying back and forth. He extended his hand out to me, face crinkled with a smile. "Come on, Chancie."

"I don't know about dancing, Daddy..."

"Don't you know the rules?" My usually mild-mannered father exclaimed, pulling me out of the booth. "If someone ever asks you to dance, you have to say yes!" He spun me around, making me laugh at how silly he was being. "It takes a lot of courage to ask a girl to dance."

After we had spent a while of me clumsily stepping on his feet, Daddy got Eddie out of the booth, passing me over to him.

Eddie's hands rested on my shoulders and I put mine on his hips, reversing the typical roles. We laughed together, inching closer as the song progressed. He spun me around and in return I did the same to him, my head falling on his shoulder when we returned to dancing normally.