Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday, dear Marcus!
Happy birthday to you!
I make a wish and blow out the candle.
“What did you wish for, baby?” asks Mom.
“I wished for everything to go back to the way it was before,” I say.
“Are you retarded?” says Ginny. “You’re not supposed to say your wish out loud! That way, it’ll never come true.”
“Oh. I didn’t know that.”
Mom starts to cry.
“Listen, I got you a present,” says Ginny, a little more softly. “It’s a birthday balloon. Everyone should get to have balloons on their birthday.” She hands me a blue surgical glove blown up and tied off at the wrist. We bounce it around the room like a beach ball.
Last year for my birthday, I had real balloons. Last year, I had real presents.
It was sunny and it was summer and
