Habby Birfday

(This was a writing exercise I did for a short story class. I still like it.)

First, tell your father to stop barking. You don’t have to explain why because he won’t remember. When he starts to mumble, you should start laughing, because he will laugh too.
Your father will go outside for a cigarette. That’s when you get out the ingredients for the cake. When your little sister wanders in to ask what you are making, tell her that it’s definitely not for her birthday tomorrow. She will clap her hands and run away. You mix the batter and boil some water. The water is for dinner: macaroni and cheese.
The heart-stopping reek of cigarettes tells you that your father is back. Ask if he would like to lick the whisks. He will mumble, laugh, and lick the metal. He says something about cheese. You realize that you poured cheese mix into the batter while you were thinking about your mom. You remember how embarrassed you were the time your friends walked you home to find your father digging through the neighbor’s trash. You wonder if it was embarrassment that caused your mom to leave.
Start on a new, cheese-free batter. He will lick the whisks after another cigarette. It is a good time to give him his meds because he is happy, and they irritate his stomach if he has not eaten something. The new formula is working well. Your father hasn’t been found in the crawl space under anyone’s house in quite some time. Hope it works during the birthday party tomorrow, and pour the batter into a cake pan. Let it bake.
Your father will get on his knees and give your little sister a full-armed, rocking hug. Habby Birfday, he will say. Your little sister will giggle and pull away at the feel of his five ‘o’ clock shadow. Your father will hug you next. Habby Birfday, he will say. You hug him back until he peels away for another cigarette.
The cake comes out lopsided, and you stare at it as it cools on the counter. At this point, you can cover it with thick icing until it looks normal on the outside. Or, you can stick the candles in at funny angles, and make it look like you meant to do it.