Happy Birthday?

Carry awoke to an unexpected chill in the house. Wrapping a shawl around her, she hurried out of her room and through the kitchen to the living room, where the remains of last night's blaze were barely glowing in the hearth.

"Just caught you," she sighed, picking up the poke and some scrap paper to tease the embers back to life. Soon the flames picked up the paper and extra twigs. Carry stood up and brushed her hands off.

After opening the curtains to glimpse the weather, it was apparent that the sun was only glowing from behind thick clouds. The previous forecast had been a little more optimistic, and Carry was hoping for good weather on her son's birthday, but no luck.

The house was quiet. Ben had not been feeling well last night and had gone to bed early. Carry went into the kitchen to set about making a fancy breakfast tray, complete with hot tea, eggs, bacon and warm, buttery muffins with a candle in each. Of course there would be candles on the birthday cake later, but Carry wanted to watch Ben blow out the candles already!

With the bacon sizzling and the muffins warming in the oven, the whole house was filled with the delicious smells. What if Ben woke up and came out to investigate before it was ready?

Carry hoped he wouldn't. She cracked two eggs into the pan and set the kettle on for the tea. She folded her arms and leaned back against the kitchen bench, thinking about the remainder of the day. No solid plans had been made for a celebration. Ben had made no suggestions as to what he would want, and being new to the neighbourhood, there were no friends as such to plan a surprise party with.

Carry didn't have much these days, but she was determined to make this birthday special for Ben. Maybe, if he wanted, they would head down to the town hall to pay for his driver's license, and then an outing to sports world or something. That is if he was feeling up to it. Carry had nearly forgot about his cough and sniffles from last night that could well roll over into today's festivities.

That would really be a spoiler.

Her mind wandered to the gift-wrapped parcel on her bed. It was the next model in the car series he was collecting. It had been hard to find and rather dear at that, but Carry was lucky to find one online.

The kettle began to whistle and brought her back to the present. She pulled out the breakfast tray, arranged the food in a pretty spread, poured the tea and lit the candles on the muffins.

And now for a bit of fun!

Carry's shoed feet made no noise on the carpeted hallway as she carefully carried the surprise towards her son's bedroom door. She balanced the tray on one arm, she knocked on the door gently a few times.

"Good morning sleepy-head!" she called in the sing-song voice she knew Ben hated to hear first thing in the morning.

"Ben, can I come in?"

No answer.

Carry turned the knob and pushed the door open. The bed was empty and a quick peek around the door showed that Ben was not there at all. Carry's mouth opened but no sound came out. In confusion, she placed the tray down on the bed and retreated from the room to yell down the hallway. Maybe Ben had slunk to the bathroom without her noticing.

There was still no answer. Now Carry was worried. She looked around the room quickly without focusing her eyes on a single thing. She found it hard to see clearly when she was distressed.

The drapes on the corner window rose and fell, signaling to her that the window was open. Carry went over and leaned out to look down the street. A car was rolling by, but not a soul was in sight on the footpath.

Carry gulped and swallowed the fact that Ben had gone, left the house without telling her. How come? On his birthday of all days.

There was no lumpy dummy in the bed, just some pajamas lying on the floor next to yesterday's clothes. Carry leaned down and started picking them up slowly.

What to do now? Call the Police? knock on the neighbours' doors and ask if they'd seen a sixteen year old pass by around eight O'clock in the morning?

"Ben," she murmured. "Where are you?"

Had he found some friends she didn't know about? What about his cough and sniffle?

First your father and now this, she thought. I can't take one more man running away from me...

Carry's lips moved silently and she blew out the candles before rushing outside.

(C) 2025 Misty Rumsley