âBe careful now,â Claire commented in vain to Brianna as she tried her best to paste the icing around the little sponge cake she had prepared. All in all, the three year old was making a rather messy job of things and the cake had more chunks taken out of it than anything else, with blotches of pink everywhere, including Breeâs hair, face and hands and sheâd even managed to get some on her infant sister Faith who sat on the table watching with interest as Claire made sure to keep her steady.
âThere!â Bree shouted with delight, slapping the top of the cake with the wooden spoon in an act to declare she was finished, but not before she stuck it in her mouth to lick the remainder of the icing off. âNo-â Claire hissed quickly, to try to stop her rubbing the slobber infested spoon over the cake again, but it was too late. âOh nevermind.â She sighed, making a rather grim face, Jamie didnât need to know.
âAll right, are you sure youâre finished?â Claire inquired a little sarcastically to the icing covered Brianna, smiling fondly at her all the same. Bree nodded attentively with the spoon in her mouth again. âShall we put the candles on then?â Claire asked with a smile before she lifted the two small wax candles from the table and handed one to Bree and the other to Faith. Faith grabbed the candle in her little fist and shook it before trying to gnaw on it. Claire laughed and tried her best to refrain her from chewing it.
Brianna wasted little time in jabbing her candle in with great force, making the jam ooze out from the second layer. Afterwards she made a face at her little sister, before she made to try and grab the candle from her tiny fist. âYouâre not supposed to eat it!â She cried with surety. Faith cooed in response, before waving her hands around again, uncaring to her sisterâs plight.
âNo, noâŠâ Claire insisted to her eldest daughter, trying to stop her grabbing the candle from her sister. âLetâs let her do it herself.â She explained gently, before she held Faithâs little hand with the candle and pushed it into the cake. Faith let go of it and laughed, but Bree merely sighed with frustration, already showing signs of inheriting her fatherâs stubbornness and a little of her motherâs bossiness, though Claire was reluctant to admit that part.
âDo you think heâll like it, Mama?â Brianna was around at the other side of the table by this time and climbing onto a chair to get a better look at her masterpiece. Claire moved to lift the crawling Faith into her arms top stop her grabbing something to chew, but her infant daughter merely clutched onto a strand of her hair instead and stuck it in her mouth, coating her mother in a layer of slobbers. âI think heâll love it.â Claire laughed a little, looking at the little sponge that was lopsided, half the top layer bashed in and icing blotched everywhere. It didnât even look edible, but Brianna could not be more proud of it. âBut I think heâll especially love the pink icing.â Claire pointed out with a smile, Brianna had insisted that the cake be pink and who was Claire to refuse?
âI think this will be his best Birthday ever!â Brianna beamed with contentment, grinning at her mother and Claire could only return her daughterâs infectious smile. âI think so too.â
Jamieâs birthday was, unfortunately, much like any other day on the farm. He rose with the sun and was out working until the sun was close to setting. The whole day, he had barely thought of how it was technically a special day, and by the time he had returned home, heâd all but forgotten.Â
Hearing the sounds of his wife and daughters in the kitchen, he rushed to remove his muddy boots, keen to spend some quality time with them. He always missed them all when he was out working. There was something excitable in their voices tonight that made him all the more intrigued to join them. And it was only at that point that he remembered what day it was. Likely, they were planning a surprise for him. Or, perhaps, that was only his ego taking over.Â
Slower now, so as not to spoil anything before they were ready, he approached the door leading into the kitchen as quietly as he could. Given how good a hunter he was, that was very quietly indeed. Much quieter than the rabble of the two young girls perched on or near the kitchen table. Claire was there, standing over them to make sure they didnât do anything too silly, or get themselves hurt. Although her hair had clearly featured as a favourite toy today, given how much wilder it was even than normal, Jamie was, as always, mesmerised by her beauty. So mesmerised, in fact, that he nearly missed the chaos of the kitchen.Â
An exclamation from Brianna, however, drew his eyes to her, only to see she was absolutely covered in icing. Her usually brilliant red hair was more pink than red, and to be quite honest the two colours were clashing nastily. The sight of her, though, brought a beaming smile to her fatherâs lips. She was happy, and that was all that mattered. Happy, and only messy because she had made him a cake. Even from here he could see it was lopsided and had chunks taken out of it, but it was still the best birthday cake he had ever seen. All because his bairns had made it.Â
They were sitting back admiring their handiwork now, so Jamie knew it was time for him to make his appearance known. Shrugging away from the door frame which heâs been leaning against without even realising, he took a step into the kitchen, folding his arms as though appraising the scene. âDid ye get any icing on the cake, a leannan, or is it all in yer hair?â Despite the serious expression he wore, his voice was teasing, and he knew Claire would catch the beginnings of a smile in the corners of his lips.Â
Bree turned at the sound of his voice, throwing her hands up in the air in excited greeting. Jamie could see that the rest of her was just as covered in icing, but he didnât care, letting her launch herself at him. âHappy birthday, da!â She exclaimed as he caught her, swinging her in a circle to hear her squeal. The smile that was threatening broke out, leaving him beaming with the same delight as his daughter.Â
âThank ye, Brianna.â He pressed a quick kiss to her cheek before lowering her to the floor and crossing the kitchen to where Faith and Claire were. Faith was given a noisy, sloppy kiss that made her giggle and her father grin. Then , it was Claireâs turn. Jamie leaned in and brushed a tender, but chaste kiss for the sake of the children, to her lips, silently thanking her for what sheâd done for him.Â