บท 22: Gifts and Secrets
"Happy Birthday, Edward!" Sam's mother said cheerfully.
"Blow out the candles! Hurry, hurry, hurry!" Sam chanted excitedly, pushing an oversized cupcake with a candle in it over to me.
Today was April 1st, 1990, and I was now 14 years old. Though, 'officially,' I was 16, thanks to my altered transcripts and paperwork. Still, regardless of my actual age, I smiled widely in genuine happiness as I blew out the single candle Sam had jabbed into the large Red Velvet cupcake with vanilla icing he and his mom had baked for me.
It was a Sunday today, and I was spending lunch at Sam's place. Later in the evening, I'd celebrate with my mother with a nice dinner, and then with the Weasleys for dessert, but until then, I was at my second home.
In the three years since I'd entered the Muggle world and met Sam Parson at Woolingsby, we'd become inseparable friends. The revelation Sam liked dressed in drag had surprised me, but I didn't care, and I'd helped him get back at Donny for being a jerk about Sam's preferences. Of course, this was still the eighties, and being 'different' just wasn't done, so I helped Sam figure out ways to cope with his feelings. Baking had been one of them. It was the sort of thing anybody could do, regardless of gender stereotypes in this day and age, and he was getting good at it after nearly two years of practice.
His parents adored me as well. I'm pretty sure they thought I was an orphan, and that my mother was actually some sort of foster care or social worker or something along those lines. They invited me over a lot as a result.
Then there was Kate Parson, Sam's sister. She grinned at me from the opposite side of the table with her mom and brother. She was also my real age, 14, and I was pretty sure she had a crush on me. The way she blushed whenever I glanced in her direction made me assume that was the case.
I pushed the thoughts out of my head and instead focused on blowing out the candle. I huffed and puffed, and the tiny flame was extinguished.
Sam and his family clapped politely, and I gave a stage bow which earned some chuckles.
"I don't think I can eat the whole thing on my own," I said, still somewhat full from the delicious BBQ Sam's father had cooked up for lunch.
"Let's split it, then," Sam's mother offered, and I grinned at that. We divided the giant cupcake into five slices, and we all enjoyed it.
"Here you go, Edward," Sam said cheerfully when we were done, passing over a rectangular gift wrapped in brown paper.
"Hmm? I wonder what it could be," I mused aloud, picking it up and tapping it. "Looks like a book… sounds like a book… so obviously it must be… a sweater!"
"Nope, guess again," Sam said with a grin.
I removed the wrapping paper, and my own smile matched Sam's.
"Awesome!" I exclaimed as I saw it was a limited edition copy of the Dungeons and Dragons 2nd edition rule book. The system had come out last year in 1989, and was basically unplayable by any standard, but it was still a great addition to my collection.
As for the rest of the family, Kate got me bunch of neon colored dice, his mom gave me a hug, and his dad slipped me fifty quid, covering it up as a stern handshake.
After spending some more time chatting and hanging out with Sam and his family I had to leave, sadly. As fun as it was, I needed to prepare for the second part of the day with my mother.
Back in the apartment, I got dressed in a nice wizarding outfit. I didn't have to dress up, as we were only going to be having dinner together at home, but it wasn't often I got to look spic and span in wizarding garb (which was just fancy robes) so I took the chance.
Eventually, six o'clock rolled around, and the doorbell rang.
"Hi, mom," I said in greeting as I opened the door, smiling at her fondly. Wisteria Hunch smiled back, and she reached down and rustled my hair.
"You're growing up so fast!" she chuckled while I spluttered.
"Agh! Not the hair, mom!" I protested. "It took forever to comb it and get it ready for tonight!"
"Yes, your father had similar problems with unruly hair," Wisteria said with a nostalgic sigh. "He used to use so much Sleek Easy!"
"Is that so?" I hummed, not liking the comparison to my rat of a father. Mother seemed to noticed this, and she immediately got depressed, which made me upset.
"Come on, mom," I said, holding out my arm for her to take. "Don't want the food getting cold, right?"
"Right, right," Wisteria Hunch said, nodding rapidly, and she took my arm. A second later there was a squeezing sensation around my waist and every limb, and the surroundings blurred. Then, we arrived in the living room of Lumpkin's Patch. I wobbled woozily from the side-along apparation, and mother giggled at the sight of me acting like I was drunk.
"Oh dear," Wisteria laughed. "When will you get the hang of traveling by apparation?"
"Oof," I grunted. "At least I don't feel queasy every time. Only took me nine trips before that happened, but I'm so glad I no longer feel the need to toss my cookies!"
"Well, I'm happy to see you're improving," Wisteria said.
"Where's Rudy?" I asked as I glanced around the room, trying to sound polite, but a note of bitterness still entered my voice.
"He's at school," she replied, failing to hide the hurt look that flashed through her eyes when I sighed in relief at not having to deal with him.
"He's currently a Second Year at Hogwarts, right?" I asked, trying to be conversational as we entered the dining room.
"Yes. He will be a Third-Year next year. He plans on taking Divination and Care of Magical Creatures," his mother revealed.
"Oh? Good for him," I said insincerely.
....
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