About ten minutes later, Maribel and I had managed to cover most of the house with decorations.
She had tied the balloons together in small groups while I handled the tape and climbed onto chairs whenever we needed to stick something higher up. We started with the living room since that was where everyone would gather for the birthday, and Shannon helped whenever Carmen did not need her downstairs.
By the time we finished, the room looked completely different.
Garlands ran across the walls and over the doorway. Balloons had been taped in uneven clusters near the ceiling, around the windows, and beside the table where Carmen would bring out the cake later. The lamps gave the colored paper a warm glow, making the furniture and worn walls look less depressing than usual.
I had never really prepared a birthday party before.
Not like this.
It was actually nice. Weirdly nice.
