Fiona
I almost forgot the date entirely. Between the mansion, my mother's recovery, and the textbook I kept falling asleep on most nights, keeping track of anything beyond the next task in front of me had become close to impossible. So when Ruth pulled me aside that morning with a knowing smile, I genuinely had no idea what she was talking about.
"We haven't forgotten, you know," she said, glancing around the hallway like she was guarding a secret. "Your birthday. Margaret's been planning something small for after lunch."
My stomach dropped. It wasn't my birthday. It was my mother's, a date I'd known my whole life, one she'd celebrated quietly for as long as I could remember, usually with nothing more than a homemade cake and the two of us sitting at our small kitchen table.
I hadn't t
