Patrick McNulty

THE FAMILY’S TOGETHER

by

Brad Ricks

Sitting at the head of the table, I couldn’t believe how lucky I felt. It had been so long since the family was all together. Now, here everyone was, and to celebrate my birthday.

My sister sat to the right of me. She smiled at me with such a grin that I could see her teeth through her cheeks. She reached her hand my direction to congratulate me on my big day. I patted the top of it in appreciation. She wanted to give me a hug, but I knew better than that. Her hugs would leave a mark. Fortunately, her legs didn’t work, so keeping her strapped to the chair was simple enough.

“Happy birthday to me!” I sang, kicking off the chorus of sounds.

Continuing around the table, my mom and dad stood next to my lovely sister. Mom and dad were always so close. I could see the joy and delight in their eyes. It wasn’t often that they got to be this close to me.

Dad tried to reach out, but he had dislocated his right shoulder a year or so back. As much as he tried to use it, the arm just laid uselessly against his side. I chuckled, watching him swing his body. Somewhere deep inside, I was sure he was trying to make it work again. As long as his left arm was secured, I didn’t have to worry about him moving around.

Mom looked as lovely as ever. She was in such good shape. Mom took good care of herself, which was important. If she didn’t, there was no telling what may have fallen off first. The jubilation in her voice made me so happy. It brought a tear to my eye.

“Happy birthday to me!”

Speaking of what was lost first, I’ve heard it said that hearing was the first to go. It was for my grandma. Both of her ears fell off. That was maybe two birthdays ago. The woman couldn’t hear a thing. It made her easy to find, though. Finding everyone so we could all celebrate together was getting harder and harder to do.

Every year, more and more people wanted to attend my birthday party. Oh, how many times I stood on my roof and yelled, “Family only! I don’t have enough for everyone!” My food supply was running short, and for this year’s birthday celebration, I used the last bit I had for them. I wasn’t sure how I was going to entertain next year. Hopefully between now and then, the crowd of party hopefuls outside would dissipate enough for more food to arrive.

Even this year, I got lucky. I had nothing to serve until a week ago. The crowds started to show up early. I had found my sister and grandma, but no one else yet. The closer my birthday got, the easier it was to find them, but the harder it was to get out of the house.

I had just left to find mom and dad when I heard a guy yell. I wished I knew how I kept getting so lucky, but how does the saying go? Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth? The scream came from the front seat of a car that hadn’t been there before. He said he ran out of gas. Wrong place and definitely the wrong time for him. The crowd circled his car, so I helped him out of it.

“Happy birthday, dear me-e-e!”

Grandpa sat between me and grandma. I liked having him next to me. Grandpa’s face always made me laugh. He used to do the funniest impressions. He had big ears and a thin face. He would puff out his cheeks, and those big ears would flail out. He could contort his face into all manner of funny looks. I would laugh and laugh and laugh.

He could still make me laugh. Poor grandpa didn’t have any teeth anymore, and since his lips were dry and thin, his gums stuck out. Watching him eat was a riot. He liked to gnaw on his food with those hard gums. Eventually, he’d swallow but with the gaping hole in his throat, the food would pop right back out. Oh, Grandpa!

“Happy birthday…to…me!” My family and I finished singing.

I leaned forward and blew out the candle on top of my last Hostess chocolate cupcake. The chocolate ones were my favorite so I saved those for my birthdays. I had a year to find another one. Fingers crossed.

After blowing out my candle, I clapped my hands together and cheered. Everyone but my dad also clapped and cheered. Well, they cheered as much as they could. Grandpa had more of a guttural moan. The lack of a throat had something to do with that. Dad tried to clap but that right arm just swung back and forth.

I pulled out the candle from my cupcake and sat it aside. Picking up the Hostess, I looked at my family waiting in anticipation. “Birthday boy gets to eat first,” I said and took a huge bite out of my cupcake. The cream filling exploded inside of my mouth. That taste of the vanilla and chocolate mixture woke up all the hunger sensations that I kept buried the rest of the year.

After finishing off my indulgence, I picked up the carving knife and fork in front of me. I hovered them over the severed head in the middle of the table. “Who wants to eat first?” I asked.

My family moaned and thrashed against their restraints as I began carving with the knife.