Queen of Science 15 Neena & Celebration

At 10:45, the first guest arrives at the party! Bursting through the front door comes Fern's grandmother, Neena. It is unknown to Fern what her real name is because Neena has refused to be called anything else since she found out about Camilla's pregnancy. Maybe her name is Nina?

This sprightly young grandma perfectly fits the description of that old lady in your neighborhood that knows all the gossip but is also really sweet and brings you cookies every December. She goes jogging every morning and hangs out with her squad every morning at the local coffee shop.

"Darling I'm here! Where is my grandchild and why have I not seen her yet? Aren't you supposed to beg me to come to babysit every other day because the baby won't let you sleep? You haven't been getting help from Harold, have you? That bastard how dare he sneak around me back and see our grandchild without me! Humph, I'm definitely not making him chocolate chip cookies this year."

Gracefully speed jogging towards the front door, Camilla rushes to Neena and hugs her. "Mom! You're here so early! I'm so happy to see you. So sorry that we haven't called you over to help with Fern. She has just been so amazing that we did not need help with anything. It must be because you're her grandmother."

Turning over to Miles who has come up from behind, Camilla nudges him and says, "Right, Miles? It is all thanks to grandma."

"Really? I thought th Yes! Yes… Fern is easy to take care of because of Neena. 100 percent. That is absolutely the reason."

"Mmm, you two really know how to suck up to me. I'll let it pass. Now, where is my granddaughter?"

"She's playing in the living room. Would you be willing to take care of her while we prepare and welcome the guests?"

Immediately, Neena takes off to find the living room and yells, "Of course!" over her shoulder.

Once Neena has left the room, Camilla turns to Miles and whispers, "I forgot how much of a whirlwind my mom is. Maybe she can be tired out by Fern before everyone else comes?"

"If anything, Fern is probably going to be tired out by your mom first"

Ding Dong!

It is as if all of the party guests made a pact to arrive at the house all at the same time. Camilla and Miles are now frantically running around the house trying to greet everyone and act like a good host. They were so frazzled that they even forgot the names of some of their closest friends. Not to mention, they totally forgot about Fern!

Luckily, Fern no longer has to share the torture of her energetic grandmother because she has found a fellow small human. This little nugget that gets to join the 'fun' is Fern's 4-year-old cousin, Basil. Apparently, flower themed names are popular in the family.

After a couple of minutes of Neena torturing Fern and Basil with hugs, kisses, and face pinching, they finally start to play around together.

In the living room, guests watch as a little girl and boy play tag with their grandma. Running through the tree-like legs of the guests, the children frantically try to find a hiding spot. The perfect duo has Fern acting as the hiding spot seeker and Basil as the grandma lookout. The moment that Basil sees Neena, he taps Fern on the shoulder, and they rush to the next hidey-hole. The guests occasionally lend a helping hand and distract Neena or point out a hiding spot.

Finally, all of the guests have been greeted, and the main event can begin!

Camilla and Miles round everyone up and pull Fern aside so that she can give her thank you speech to everyone.

Ting ting! Camilla lightly taps on her wine glass with her spoon and waits until all of the guests settle down.

"Good evening everyone. Thank you for coming to Fern's first-year birthday party! She has prepared a short little thank you speech for you all."

Letting go of Miles' hand, Fern steps forward, gives a bright smile, and delivers the speech that she practiced with her dad. "Thank you for coming to my birthday party!" Proud of herself for perfectly pronouncing her speech, Fern laughs as she is twirled in the arms of her dad.

There is a brief pause as the guests are surprised by Fern's advanced speech, but they snap out of it and start clapping it once they hear her laughing. They applaud and begin singing 'Happy Birthday' as Camilla brings in Fern's birthday cake.

"Happy birthday to you~ happy birthday to you~ happy birthday dear Fern~ happy birthday to you!"

Poof!

Fern blows out the birthday cake candles as she is held up in Miles' arms.

"What'd you wish for baby?"

Grinning cheekily, Fern says "my wish is…. A secret!"

"What a tease~ Just this once I will let it slide because it is your birthday. I can't believe my daughter is already starting her moody teenage phase!"

Chapter end