Caitlin hurried into the large kitchen, grabbed the cake plate which she had been hiding, and hurried with it through the double doors. As she did, her large Huskie, Ruth, followed at her heels, sniffing the cake and wagging her tail. As she set it down in the center of the dining table, she only hoped that Scarlet hadn’t seen it yet. After all, tonight was Scarlet’s big 16th birthday, and even though it was a weeknight, Caitlin had a special surprise in store for her.
Caitlin had been looking forward to this all week. Scarlet still thought they weren’t going to celebrate until the weekend, since Caitlin had tricked her, had told her it would be more festive to wait until then. Scarlet had actually believed it, and Caitlin had secretly summoned the whole crew to be here, to surprise her when she got home from school. Not only did she make sure Caleb got home from work early to help her prepare, but she also made sure her brother, Sam, left work early, too—and that he brought his wife, and Caitlin’s best friend, Polly. The four of them were as close as two couples could be—like one family—and Scarlet’s birthday wouldn’t be the same without them here.
The doorbell rang and Caitlin jumped. Ruth barked, and Caitlin ran through the house, praying Scarlet wasn’t home early. Thankfully, she wasn’t: Caitlin opened the door with huge relief to see her little brother, Sam, standing there, smiling, Polly on his arm, grinning and radiant as always.
“Did we make it on time?” Sam asked excitedly, as he stepped quickly into the house and gave Caitlin a hug.
“Barely,” Caitlin answered.
“Sorry,” Sam said. “Got stuck at work.”
Caitlin was proud of her little brother. Only two years younger than she, it was hard for her to believe he was already 31. And even harder for Caitlin to believe that she, herself, was 33. That Polly was 32. And that Scarlet was turning 16. Where had the time gone? It had all flown by so fast. It felt like only yesterday that they were all teenagers.
Caitlin felt so fortunate to have so many people in her life who she loved. Life had been good to her, she had to admit. Or at least, lately it had. She and Sam’s early years had been hard, raised only by their mother, in a dingy apartment in a bad neighborhood in New York City, with an absentee father they’d never met. Her mother died right after high school, and Caitlin and Sam had basically been left to raise each other on their own. Which was actually nearly an improvement from their unloving mom.
Sam, naturally, had gotten into a lot of trouble in his youth. How couldn’t he? He’d even been thrown in jail once or twice, for misdemeanors, bar fights—once, for hitting a cop. He had a real issue with authority.
But when he reached college-age, after their mom died, Sam, with the help of Caitlin, finally turned his life around. He got into college, graduated, and had been a model citizen since. Now he worked in a great job, as a mentor, helping troubled youth at the local school. It was the perfect job for him, and Caitlin was so proud. In some ways, she felt like she raised him.
Polly stepped up and gave Caitlin a hug, and she hugged her back. Ruth barked and whined, and Polly and Sam knelt down and hugged her, too. Caitlin felt so lucky to have Polly in her life. In some ways, life had been a dream, working out so perfectly, her best friend marrying her brother. Their marriage was what had really grounded Sam, was what had really set him on the right track, had given him the sense of stability and purpose he’d never had. The only thing missing from their life was a child; they had been trying to get pregnant for so many years, but so far, with no luck. But still, she was beaming. Her whole life, as long as Caitlin had known her—since high school—she had been beaming.
“I’m so excited!” Polly screamed, bursting into the room, rushing right to the table, setting down an armful of presents and helping to prepare.
“I found those candles she loves!” Polly said as she emptied a paper bag and stuck thick, decorative candles all over the cake.
“Does she know yet?” Polly continued. “Does she have any idea? Oh my God, do you think she’ll like this dress I got her? I was looking for it all day. You don’t think it will be too small do you? Will she like the color?”
Caitlin smiled. That was Polly, always asking ten questions at the time, always in such an excited rush.
“I’m sure it will be perfect,” Caitlin responded with a smile. “Thank you for everything.”
Caleb hurried into the room, through the double doors, carrying a platter of carved turkey.
“Careful, it’s hot,” he warned, as he set it down on the table. Caleb’s muscles rippled through his tee-shirt, the product of years of training.
Every time Caitlin looked at Caleb, her heart soared. She had married the man of her dreams. Here he was, the model of a husband, tall, strong, with broad shoulders, a proud jaw, and beautiful blue eyes. And every time he looked at her, his eye were filled with love. She reciprocated. There was no one she loved more, even after all these years. He was the one and only true love of her life.
They had met the day Caitlin graduated high school, and she had fallen in love instantly. It was the strangest thing, but she’d felt, from the moment she’d met him, as if she’d known him her whole life. She’d gotten pregnant at 17, before they’d married, and back then, Caitlin had been terribly worried about it. Her mother of course didn’t help, only having negative things to say.
But Caleb was never worried. He said he’d already decided he wanted to be with her, and was just grateful they had a child so soon. She took solace in his strength, and after all, she loved him as much as he did her. Nine months later, she gave birth—oddly, on the same day that her mother died of a heart attack. And shortly afterwards, Caitlin and Caleb married.
After they married, Caleb entered the Air Force. A fighter pilot for the Marine Corps, one of their best, Caitlin would watch him in awe as he would fly jets on a military base. It was incredible for her to watch him flying through the air like that at such speed, with such power. Sometimes she felt as if it stirred some memory, deep inside of her—but she was not sure what. It was an odd feeling that didn’t make sense, as if somehow, she expected him to be soaring through the air. She knew it didn’t make any sense, and she tried to push it out of her mind. But somehow, it lingered.
As they had gotten older, into their late 20s, Caleb had retired from the force, and had become a domestic pilot. He traveled a lot, though lately, he’d been home more often, which made Caitlin happy. Sometimes, on the weekends, he flew daredevil shows in small, local airplanes, to the delight of thousands of onlookers. He would soar in huge circles in the sky, dive down, then rise at the last second. Kids loved watching him, though Caitlin’s heart sank every time he got in the cockpit. She just wanted him to be safe.
Sometimes, though, she would accompany him in the cockpit of a small, two-seater plane, and it would be just the two of them, flying locally, together. For their last anniversary, he took her up at night, during the summer, in a full moon: as the two of them glided through the night, it had felt as if they’d had the whole world to themselves. She loved it. It made her feel a sense of nostalgia, of belonging, though she didn’t know why.
Caitlin was fine with the fact that Caleb traveled a lot, that he was busy. She liked having her space, and she was busy, too. After all, she had built an incredible career for herself. Her dysfunctional upbringing had made her use her studies as a way of escape. The worse the neighborhood was that her mom dragged her to, the worse the school, the more she applied herself, the harder she studied. Through sheer force of will, she managed to get straight A’s. She also managed to get herself a scholarship to Columbia University. Ironically, it was only 15 blocks away from the bad neighborhood she was raised in—and yet, it was a universe apart.
In Columbia, Caitlin applied herself even harder, and after four years graduated with near-perfect grades, getting herself a scholarship to graduate school. She pushed herself even harder, until, at 26, she graduated with a dual Ph.D. in History and Antiquities. Caleb always joked with her, always would ask with
a smile: How many Ph.D.’s do you want?
But he was so proud of her. She could see it in his eyes.
What she should do with her all of her knowledge was a question she’d asked herself many times, too. She still didn’t know what she wanted to do, even after all the school, even after all these degrees. She knew that, for some reason, she was interested in history, antiquities, archaeology—and most of all, rare objects and books. With all her scholarship, she could have had a job anywhere she wanted. But instead, she chose to pursue her one great passion: rare books.
Caitlin didn’t know why she felt so drawn to rare books; it didn’t even make sense to her. But, for as long as she could remember, that was always what she loved. She still felt a thrill every time she picked up some ancient, dusty book, tried to decode it, figure out where it was from. How old it was. Who wrote it. What language it was in. How rare it was.
She’d held books that were worth tens of millions of dollars, one-of-a-kind, ancient books that had been seen and held by few people throughout history. She’d held original, first edition Shakespeare volumes, ancient Greek scrolls. She could feel a connection to history as she did. It made her feel alive.
She also couldn’t help feeling, every time she picked up a book, that it held a riddle, a clue, some mystery to be solved. And that thrilled her. For some reason she felt, deep down, that there was some mystery lingering in her consciousness, something she needed to solve. She didn’t know what. It didn’t make sense to her, and that bothered her. And when she worked on a rare book, she felt she could solve clues that she couldn’t put her fingers on in real life.
While she was raising Scarlet, Caitlin had worked part time in rare bookstores, and now that she was settled, she worked here, at the local university. They had a vast library, and an endless collection of rare books that had to be classified. They told her frequently how lucky they were to have someone of her caliber there, locally, to help them. It was true: Caitlin, with a mind like hers, could have worked anywhere in the world. But Caitlin didn’t mind. She was happy to be here, locally, in this quiet town, to be able to raise Scarlet in a safe place, to give her the sheltered childhood that she’d never had, and longed for, herself.
Looking back, having Scarlet had been the best decision of Caitlin’s life. She was the joy of her life—and of Caleb’s, too. Caitlin firmly believed that even without a child, they would have married anyway. They had tried throughout the years to have more kids, but for some reason, they’d never been able to. So it ended up being just she and Caleb and Scarlet, just the three of them in this big house. Sometimes she wished they’d had more kids to fill the house. But she was grateful and happy for what she had.
They had both wanted to get away from New York City, wanted a wholesome life for Scarlet, so they’d headed two hours north and settled in a small, idyllic town in the Hudson Valley, a place where they could live in peace and tranquility. Caitlin had been thrilled when Sam followed them, and eventually, when Polly did, too. Life was finally coming together for her, all the pieces fitting. She felt so blessed to be able to live tranquilly in a small town, her family close by, with an adoring husband, a best friend, an amazing brother, and a child she loved more than anything.
Sometimes, she looked back at her childhood and felt pangs of anxiety and upset. Looking back, she wondered about her Dad. Who he was. Why he had abandoned them all. Why her mom had always been so mean to her. Why she couldn’t have had a more normal upbringing, a less dysfunctional family.
But whenever these thoughts overcame her, Caitlin forced herself to just push it all to the back of her mind, to focus on what she had, on all the good in her life. She didn’t want to linger in sorrow and guilt and upset. After all, it didn’t do any good. She could just as easily choose to focus on all the blessings she had, all she had to be grateful for.
Growing up, everything had seemed so important. Her friends, her boyfriends, her parents, her school…. It had felt like everything had such importance, would last forever. She’d been unable to see a life beyond that. But now, looking back, at 33, she realized how insignificant all of that stuff was. It all felt so distant, so far away. In retrospect, none of it even mattered anymore.
“Caitlin?” came a voice.
Caitlin blinked, snapping out of it. She looked over to see everyone staring at her.
“Hello, Earth to Caitlin?” Polly said, and they all broke into laughter.
Caitlin blushed. She must have zoned out again.
“Sorry,” she said.
Caleb came over and kissed her forehead.
“You okay, baby?” he asked. “You’ve been spacing out a lot lately.”
Before Caitlin could reply, suddenly Polly yelled:
“I see her! Scarlet! She’s outside. Hurry!”
As everyone rushed to the front door, Caitlin quickly lit the 16 candles on the cake, then hurried towards the parlor to join them.
Caitlin positioned herself so that Scarlet wouldn’t see the cake, standing right in front of the door, her heart racing. As she waited, she heard footsteps on the old porch, and was surprised to hear two sets of steps. She’d assumed Scarlet would be coming home alone, and didn’t know who could be with her. Ruth whined like crazy, sensing Scarlet was coming.
Scarlet opened the door, and as she did, they all yelled: “SURPRISE!”
Scarlet lifted her head and stared back, wide-eyed, looking completely shocked. Caitlin could see real surprise in her face, and felt so happy, victorious, that she actually managed to surprise her. Scarlet, of all people. The smartest person she’d ever known. The hardest person to surprise with anything.
Scarlet was also the most beautiful. As she stood there, with her perfectly-chiseled pale face, her large, crystal-blue eyes, her flowing, red hair, she was breathtaking. In many ways, she reminded Caitlin of Caleb.
Ruth barked and barked and Scarlet hugged her. Scarlet’s face lit with excitement, as she stood up and broke into a huge smile, revealing perfect white teeth.
“That’s why you didn’t call today!” she said.
As she hugged her, Caitlin smiled over her shoulder.
“I wanted you to be totally surprised. Happy birthday, sweetheart. We love you so much!”
Scarlet then hugged Caleb, and he hugged her back firmly.
“Happy birthday, sweetheart,” he said.
But as Caleb looked over Scarlet’s shoulder, at the person standing the doorway, his expression hardened a bit.
Caitlin looked and saw that there, in the front door, there stood a boy. He was maybe Scarlet’s age, 16. Hands in his pockets, he wore a plaid shirt and jeans, with longish hair, and looked up warily at both of them.
Caitlin had never seen this boy, but she was suddenly overwhelmed by the strangest feeling that they’d met. He seemed so familiar that it bothered her, as if she’d known him forever. But she knew she did not.
Scarlet must have noticed the sudden tension in the air, because she turned.
“Um…guys,” she said. “Like, sorry, I didn’t realize that, like, everyone would be here. This is my boyfriend. Blake.”
“Boyfriend?” Caleb asked warily, surprise rising in his voice.
Blake, Caitlin thought. How did she know that name? Somehow, she felt that she did.
Blake looked back and forth cautiously between Caitlin and Caleb.
“Um…hi,” he finally said, shyly.
“Dad, be nice,” Scarlet cautioned.
Caleb held out a large, firm hand, and Blake reached out tentatively. Caleb shook his hand hard—just a little bit too hard, Caitlin could see.
“Any friend of my daughter is welcome in our home,” Caleb said, though Caitlin could see his jaw tighten. She also noticed he chose the word friend, not boyfriend.
“Hey Scarlet!” Sam yelled out, and came hurrying over and gave her a hug.
“Oh my god are you gorgeous or what!” Polly screamed, as she hurried over and wrapped Scarlet in a big hug, picking her up. “Oh m
y God, look at that hair. And those earrings. And those shoes? Where did you get those? Oh my god, you look stunning! Stunning!” Polly said.
Scarlet smiled wide as she embraced Polly, who was like a second mom to her.
“Thanks, Polly. You look great, too.”
Caitlin gently prodded them towards the dinner table, and as they all were getting closer, she hurried around, behind Scarlet, and placed her palms over her eyes.
“Don’t look!” Caitlin said, as she walked with Scarlet across the dining room.
As they approached the table, Caitlin pulled back her hands.
Scarlet’s eyes opened in surprise, and her face broke into a huge smile.
“Oh my God, you got it for me!” she screamed, and turned and hugged Caitlin tightly.
Caitlin beamed with satisfaction. It was Scarlet’s favorite cake, a red velvet cheesecake that she’d once had in Manhattan and never forgot. The bakery in the city was the only one that made it, and Caitlin had taken a special trip the day before just to get it for her.
Scarlet turned to Blake, who was lingering back behind the others and grabbed his hand and pulled him forward, right next to her.
“Oh my god you don’t understand,” she gushed to him. “This is the world’s best cake. You have to taste it.”
As she spoke, Caitlin could see the love emanating on her face towards Blake. And it was reciprocal. That made her very happy—and nervous at the same time. She knew how easily Scarlet fell in love, and didn’t want to see her get hurt.
Scarlet blew out all the candles, and as she did, everyone cheered.
“Thanks mom,” she said, hugging Caitlin one more time, “you really surprised me. I love you.”
“I love you too,” Caitlin said.
*
They all had a lovely meal together. Blake joined them, and the six of them sat around, eating course after course, laughing, talking about the amazing year in store for Scarlet. Polly brought a bubbly, vivacious energy to the table, and having her and Sam there made the house feel so much bigger to Caitlin, so much warmer. It felt like a real home.