Today happened to be Dina's 7th birthday party.
Every year before this, she always insisted on a massive princess-themed party and invited half the neighborhood over, children actually. But this year was different. She only wanted to celebrate her special day with her dad, Eriko, and the small circle of people around her.
She had already taken charge of the dress code. She made the pups dress up like the Teletubbies, while Charlie had been shoved into a round white suit to look like an egg.
Night had fallen completely, and everyone was spread out on the grass outside the cottage, celebrating under the stars.
The setup felt like an informal picnic, with everyone sitting on blankets spread over the ground, passing around plates of their favorite snacks and sweet pastries. Malo had brought a massive box of glazed donuts and, true to form, was running around doing silly voices to keep the crowd entertained.
"Aww, this is amazing, isn't it?" Princess said softly....
