When Cameron arrived at the house a few minutes later, the table was already set and breakfast was ready. I ate my food in silence while Cameron and Maddie chatted (Clare looking on a little regretfully), not wanting to show that I was still affected by my fight with my sister.

Once I'd cleared my plate, I put it in the dishwasher and then got ready to head out to work. Everyone else was still at the table, but when I went to the front door Cameron stood and followed me.

"Is everything okay, Evelyn?" he asked, his pool-blue eyes staring into mine probingly. "You were really quiet at breakfast."

I clung my messenger bag tighter against me, hesitant to tell Cameron that he was all but ruining my relationship with one of my sisters. "I'm fine," I said. "I'm going to go on to work, okay? I don't want to be late."

Though he still didn't look convinced, he let me go, leaning forward to kiss me lightly before I unlocked the front door and opened it. When I slid into my car, I could see that he was still watching me through the front window.

I drove in silence, the radio off and the windows rolled up, concentrating on the road in front of me and my hands on the wheel. As I got closer to the café, though, I felt my thoughts slipping, travelling to my faded memories of my day in the bird park with my family. Would the place even be the same anymore?

Melissa was just finishing her morning shift at the café when I walked inside, and she offered me a quick smile before untying her apron and grabbing her things from behind the counter. Just as I was putting on my own apron, Belinda poked her head out of the kitchen.

"Hello, Evelyn!" she exclaimed, smiling. "Nice to see you! Why don't you work at the counter for a little bit while I finish this paperwork? We also have a table or two that needs cleaned."

It was nice to have something to do, when at Katie's I had spent most of my time twiddling my thumbs and thinking about how unproductive I was being. I fell into a steady rhythm of taking orders, delivering food, and clearing tables, all while trying to forget about the events that were to take place later that day.

When the café door opened and a group of my ex-friends from school walked inside, my spirits plummeted. I applied the rag I was using more ferociously to the table I was cleaning, then tossed back on a clean tablecloth and headed back towards the counter.

"How can I help you?" I asked, looking up to see Ashley, Tasha, and Sara (another girl from the same group) staring at me.

"Do you even work here?" demanded Ashley, setting her hands on her hips and narrowing her eyes at me.

Not only did I not want drama, but it would look unprofessional. Glancing back at Belinda, who was still bent over her papers in the kitchen, I said, "Yes, I do. Now can I take your order?"

The girls all ordered sandwiches, and I entered their orders into the computer system before taking their cash and counting back their change. I remembered how Katie had given me extra tips to keep and wondered if Belinda would do the same—of course, it would be awkward to ask her.

I didn't have to worry, though, because the girls didn't tip me anything, and they took their number indicating their order to their table without even a thank you. Rolling my eyes, I took out my rag and began scrubbing down the counter, taking out my frustration on the shiny glass.

"Evelyn! Food's ready!" called Belinda a few minutes later, and I was forced to take the tray of food over to Ashley and Co. and serve them while they looked on serenely.

"I would tip you for the great service," said Ashley, glancing up at me and batting her eyelashes in over-exaggeration, "But we don't tip people who steal."

Clenching my jaw, I grabbed my tray back and stalked back to the kitchen without a word, forcing the tears threatening to spill onto my cheeks back into my eyes.

~*~*~

When I got back to the house I found Cameron, Maddie, and Clare in the living room playing a board game. I quietly slipped inside and kicked off my shoes, then stood in the entryway for a few minutes, just watching.

Finally Maddie turned around and saw me, and her face lit up. "Evelyn!" she exclaimed, jumping up and nearly upsetting the game board. She ran over to be and wrapped her arms around my stomach in a tight hug. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too, Maddie," I said, kissing the top of her head. "How about you finish the game, and then we're going to the park."

She scurried back over to the carpet and plopped down, and I followed her inside. Clare barely glanced up at me when I entered, but Cameron beamed.

"How was work, Caverly?" he asked, scooting over to make room for me.

I sat down and crossed my legs, surveying the game board. "It was great," I said. "People wouldn't tip me because I'm dating you."

"Really?"

He looked so hurt, I knew I couldn't tell him the truth. "I'm joking," I said. "Gracious, Cameron, can't you have any fun?"

"Ha, ha," he said sarcastically, then turned back to the game and rolled the dice.

While the three finished their game, I went into the kitchen to pack sandwiches to take to the park, only to find there was already an actual picnic basket sitting on the counter. When I opened it, the delicious aroma immediately told me it was more of Mrs. Maddox's home-cooked food.

"Evelyn!" called Maddie just as I was contemplating the temptation of eating a sandwich before we arrived at the park, "Come on! We have to go!"

I heaved the picnic basket up on one arm and crossed through the living room to reach the front door. The game had been picked up and the box was sitting on its shelf next to the TV—my sisters already had their shoes on.

The drive to the park was peaceful. Cameron and I sat in the front with the windows down and the radio up, and my sisters sat in the back discussing what they wanted to do when they grew up. Wind was whipping through my hair, tussling and tangling it, and I found myself singing along to the music like I hadn't in years.

My cheerful mood all but evaporated when Cameron steered the car into a parking spot at the bird park. When he rolled the windows back up and shut off the car, I leaned back in my seat with my eyes closed, suddenly dizzy.

"Coming, Evelyn?" asked Cameron, opening my car door. "Come on, it'll be fun. I've heard they've got some really cool birds."

Reluctantly, I unbuckled my seatbelt and then helped my sisters out of the car. Maddie was bouncing up and down on her toes, her pink tennis shoes vibrant against the grey pavement. Beside her, Clare took my hand, and I could tell she was trying hard to hide her own excitement.

Cameron insisted on buying our admission, and before long I was fastening a blue band around my wrist and grabbing a map. The place was all too familiar—I remembered roaming through the expansive shop and main building to cool off after my hot day spent admiring the birds and the flowers.

Our first step outside was like a punch to my gut. I found myself in an enormous field with dandelions sprouting in almost every spare inch. My little sisters immediately sank down among the grass and weeds, laughing and pulling dandelions out of the earth before making wishes and blowing the seeds away.

I stayed standing, remembering a day years and years ago when I had taken the place of my little sisters. Then my family had been whole and complete; then I had been happy and completely at ease. I pulled a dandelion up, held it close to my mouth, closed my eyes...

I couldn't do it. I opened my eyes and threw the dandelion onto the ground, where it sat among the grass. Maddie picked it up and immediately wished on it; I watched the seeds blow away feeling like they were pieces of my younger self.

Cameron and I stood side by side for a while, watching my sisters play. Finally, he stooped down and picked up his own dandelion, holding it out just in front of my nose.

"Make a wish, Evelyn," he said, jiggling the weed up and down. "Go on."

I looked up at him and saw the way he was watching me expectantly. I couldn't find words to explain why what he was asking of me was so impossible. "Cameron," I said, taking the stem and twisting it between my fingers, "I can't."

He studied me for a while, his eyebrows scrunched together; finally, he ran a hand through his dark hair.

"I've been working on you for a while," he said. "You're this giant puzzle to me. It's so much fun to solve, but sometimes it's heartbreaking, and sometimes it's a little disappointing, you know?"

I thought about the way he'd just come clean one day and laid out his entire past before me, bare and free of lies. Compared to the way I'd hidden the horrors of my life, I wondered how I even had the audacity to be standing here with him acting like everything was okay. Suddenly, what Clare had said to me felt like it had truth.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, handing the dandelion back to him. He took it, closed his eyes for a few seconds, and then blew away the seeds. We both watched them dancing in the wind until they were swept up out sight.

Then I turned to him. "What did you wish for?" I asked.

He shrugged, but he was smiling that mysterious smile, and I knew he would never say.

After a while, Maddie and Clare grew tired of playing in the field of dandelions, and we moved on to the birds. They were everywhere: flying from tree to tree, hopping on the ground in search of food, even building nests with sticks and other telltale ingredients. The initial shock of receiving such a blow from my past started to wear off as the exhibits we visited were ones that were blurry in my memory, and soon I was even enjoying myself.

"What kind of bird is that?" asked Maddie, tugging on my sleeve and pointing at a beautiful bright yellow bird. I checked the map I was given, which also had a list of common birds that could be seen in the park.

"I don't know," I said, unable to identify the species. "It's pretty, though."

We walked for a little while longer until the sun was hot on our backs and we had to stop at an open expanse of picnic tables to eat our lunch. Cameron began unpacking the picnic basket, which was complete with paper plates and plastic silverware, and then we set about devouring the delicious sandwiches.

"I want to go here every day," said Maddie, munching on her peanut butter and jelly.

Clare, who was smiling, agreed. "Every single day for the rest of my life."

Watching my sisters enjoying themselves so much, I knew it had been the right decision to take them to the bird park. It had been an indispensable part of my childhood, and even though they didn't have parents, I could still try to give them the same happy memories.

"We can come back sometime," I said. "Maybe in the summer, when there are different birds."

"Or in the winter when all the birds from the north have flown down here while it's cold!" piped up Maddie.

Smiling, I took her napkin and gently wiped jelly off her cheek. "That would be fun."

We kept walking after lunch, enjoying the cool mist from the fountains and the melodic chirping of birds all around us. The heat of the afternoon sun was intense when we reached an exhibit with exotic birds, but my sisters insisted on standing and watching the colorful creatures flap around for what felt like hours.

"I'm so glad you suggested this, despite the heat," I told Cameron as we stood back to let Maddie and Clare get the front view. He had taken my hand a little while back, and now he swung it back and forth cheerfully.

"Any way to spend time with you is good," he said.

I glanced up at him and smiled, and he smiled back, and suddenly the entire world seemed at peace.