"Is that right?" Shanley listened quietly, his expression softening with immense tenderness. "Let him have a big piece this time. He''ll be thrilled."


    With that, Shanley pulled out his phone and showed Juniper a photo. He had arranged for a cake to be delivered directly to Lemuel Sherwin''s grave.


    "Look, Grandpa got to eat his cake before we even started on ours," Shanley said with a smirk, his tone turning yfully irreverent. "I was worried he''d be lonely, so I specifically had Flint stay behind to eat with him."


    Juniper cast a sideways nce at him, the lump in her throat dissolving into awkward disbelief. Was he serious? He made Flint stay at the cemetery to eat cake with herte grandfather?


    She distinctly remembered Flint mentioning his intense fear of ''ghosts.'' This assignment definitely counted as a workce hazard!


    "Flint has been doing a pretty good jobtely," Juniper said slowly after a brief pause. "You should give him a bonus. He looks like he''s about to burst into tears."


    "Those are tears of joy," Shanley replied with azy scoff. "I promised him a house for keeping the old manpany over cake."


    Juniper was left entirely speechless.


    "Enough about him. Blow out the candles first," Shanley urged, quickly changing the subject. It bothered him to hear her worrying about Flint.


    "Okay." Juniper nodded and blew out all the candles in one breath.


    "Happy birthday," Shanley said softly. "Now, it''s time to open your presents."


    Before she could process it, Shanley led her into another room, like they were about


    to open mystery boxes. The floor was covered with beautifully wrapped, colorful gift boxes. A quick nce told Juniper there were about eighteen of them.


    Eighteen? Was he trying to make up for the first eighteen birthdays of her life?


    "You definitely copied this idea from the inte didn''t you?" Juniper walked around the pile of gifts and casually picked up the one meant forfier first birthday. She opened its to find a pair of incredibly adorable baby walking shoes.


    "Yeah." Shanley didn''t dare deny it. He had indeed seen it online, and the reviews were glowing. Onement specifically imed: *Do this, and your girlfriend will be so moved she''ll cry her eyes out.*


    Cry her eyes out? Shanley frowned as he watched his girlfriend happily tearing into the gifts with genuine amusement, without a single tear in sight. Clearly, this trick didn''t work on her.


    It


    Half an hourter, Juniper had opened alt eighteen gifts, exhausted enough to down two sses of water in a row. Eighteen présents, it was a thoughtful gesture, sure. But... wasn''t she turning neen today?


    "I have one more thing to show you."


    Before she realized it, Shanley had guided her out to the unfinished garden. Next to the pond sat a massive gift box. The tag read: *Happy 19th Birthday to my dearest Juniper.*


    Juniper had never seen anything like this. What kind of present required a pond? "Open it yourself," Shanley said softly, letting go of her hand.


    Juniper pressed her lips together and rested her fingers on the ribbon''s bow. With a firm tug, the blue gift box bloomed open like a flower, falling away on all sides.


    Inside the clear, beautiful pond floated two tiny, adorable turtles. They were no bigger than the palm of her hand. Startled by the sudden exposure, the two turtles were paddling frantically with all eight of their little fegs. Other than them, the pond waspletely empty.


    Juniper was thoroughly bewildered.


    Her neenth birthday gift... was two turtles? What dark corner of the inte did


    he dig this terrible idea out of?