With Kit’s birthday coming up, I took Claire out for a quick errand this afternoon that I told Kit “might or might not have to do with your birthday.” We were going over to Whole Foods to order a cake. On the drive over, Claire came up with her pick for Mom’s cake: chocolate cake with brown chocolate icing and green leaves that are not real; they’re made of icing so you can eat them. She wanted to add the green leaves because she knew green was her mom’s favorite color.

When we got to the store, they did not have any such cake, so we settled on a black and white “chocolate eruption” cake that looked delicious. We thought Kit would like it because it was so chocolatey. I told Claire the cake was a secret, and we shouldn’t tell mom.

After we got back and sat down for dinner maybe an hour later, Claire took it upon herself to start the evening’s conversation. The first thing out of her mouth was, “Hey mom, your birthday cake is real chocolatey!” Kit and I started cracking up. Claire said, “Why are you laughing?” I reminded her that it was supposed to be a secret. Unlike some similar occasions in the past, she did not get mad or offended that we were laughing at her. She just looked sheepish and tried to change the subject. Still, maybe next year I’ll find a way to order the cake alone.