“Yeah, it’s me. You hungry?”
Cooper smiled and popped up from his place on the floor. “It’s weird. I’m always hungry nowadays. Maybe it means I’m finally growing.”
Rosie snorted. “I wouldn’t count on it. I bet you’re always going to be that small.”
Cooper didn’t take her bait. Much to her disappointment, he never did.
“Wrong. I’m definitely not going to stay this small. You just wait and see.”
“I’m not holding my breath.”
Again, Cooper didn’t bite and instead changed the subject. “What are you doing up so early, anyway? Please tell me you didn’t sleep badly. I wanted you to have the best night’s sleep ever.”
She smiled even more widely. “I didn’t sleep at all, Cooper! It was the best night ever.”
“Huh?”
“I read all night long, one of the stories you got for me. Thank you, Cooper. Really.”
Rosie didn’t miss how Cooper’s shoulders relaxed a little bit once he knew she was pleased.
“Well, that does sound like a pretty good night. I’ve never been able to stay up the whole night reading, but I bet someday I’m able to get there. Now, what are we going to eat?”
Rosie shrugged, guiltily. “Birthday cake, maybe?”
Cooper bent to lift his candle from its place on the floor and held the flame up between them. His expression was hesitant.
“You want to cut into it before the celebration tonight?”
Rosie nodded.
“Won’t we get into trouble?”
Rosie was thirteen now. Weren’t thirteen years olds supposed to get into a little bit of trouble? And Cooper was way past due for some. She shrugged again. “So? Sometimes, trouble is fun. Besides, it’smybirthday cake. Shouldn’t I be able to eat it whenever I want?”
Cooper furrowed his brows and lifted his shoulders reluctantly. “I don’t know. I don’t feel great about it.”
“I bet you’ll feel better about it when we’re elbow deep in some chocolate cake. You’re in, right?”
Cooper sighed and gave her a nod. “Don’t you know by now, Rosie? I’d follow you anywhere. Now, let’s go enjoy this cake because I have a feeling it might be all we are allowed to eat for the next three days after we’re caught.”
Rosie wrinkled her nose at him in confusion. “You think they’re going to starve us as punishment? Boy, you really haven’t been in very much trouble before, have you?”
“Nope.”
Rosie reached for his free hand and began to pull him toward the kitchen. “Well, then it’s time for you to figure out just how not-scary trouble really is. Trust me, it will be fine.”
While she wasn’t entirely sure that her reassurances to Cooper were true, she was too far in to back out now.
Chapter 5
Madeline
Rosie’s birthday played out differently than my daughter had imagined it would. When the cook happened upon Rosie and Cooper cowering in the corner of the kitchen, their faces covered in icing, and alerted me to what had happened, I made the executive decision to let the day pass without a word about it. I knew my daughter. Part of her wanted to get in trouble. She possessed the same rebellious streak in her that I’d had myself at her age. Each little harmless act of rebellion she committed now was like a giant red flashing warning sign of the hell that awaited me in the years to come.
It was for that reason that I chose to ignore the birthday cake fiasco. There would be battles in the years ahead that would be worth fighting with her— sneaking birthday cake wasn’t one of them.
Instead, without saying a word to Rosie, I instructed the cook to leave the cake out in the dining hall so that everyone in the castle could help themselves to it throughout the day. When it was time for dinner, we made no presentation of the cake, sang her no birthday song, and blew out no candles. We still ate Rosie’s favorite meal, gifted her presents, and behaved pleasantly as if nothing had happened. The only difference was that the evening progressed as if there had never been a cake made solely for her.