“Happy Birthday to youuuuu!”

“Happy Birthday to youuuuuuuuuu!!”

“Happy Birthday dear, Remy!”

“Happy Birthday to you!!”

“Make a wish!!!”

I looked around at the shining faces of the people I loved most in this world: my dad, Ruby, Aunt Eliza, her husband Connor, my older cousin Court, Ruby’s long-time boyfriend Drew, and our other friend Lizi.  We were a content, serene crowd.  You would never have guessed that my mother had murdered herself and that my baby sister had disappeared only years before.  I tried not to think about it, I tried to relish this moment because we had come a long way as a family.  Happily, I looked down at my birthday cake which was a multitude of shades of blue with beautiful scrolling writi...

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