Martha jumped up on the bed again. I sat up and ruffled her fur, trying to remember the thing I told myself not to forget last night. Oh, her birthday! Martha ran off and I dug out the little green bag. I had put it in a safer place than beneath my pillow, worried I might squish it. I hid it behind my back as I walked to her door, bursting with excitement. I peeked through the door to see that she was still fast asleep and Martha was lying in the centre of the room. I'll let her get her rest.

I made pancakes (the extent of my cooking) and poured a glass of orange juice and set them on a tray to bring her breakfast in bed. 

"Good morning, Martha!" I heard from her room. I knocked on the door. "Come in," she replied.

I brought the tray in and set it on her nightstand. "Happy birthday, Linda," 

She smiled. "Oh, you didn't have to, Paul,"

"No, I wanted to," I pulled out the bag from my trouser pocket. "I uh... I bought this for you,"

She opened the drawstring at the top and gasped. She likes it! No, she hates it. No, she likes it...no she hates it...oh I hope she likes it...

"I love it!" SWEET VICTORY! She clipped it around her neck and gazed down at it. "Oh, it's beautiful!"

"I'm glad you like it," I smiled before heading to the living room.

~~~

Today was also the day the album was released. I liked it, save for a few songs, for example, Revolution 9, but most of them were alright. Also, today was a day off because of the release.

I went back and checked on Linda, who had just finished breakfast. "Do you think we could try walking to the couch this time?" she asked.

"I don't see why not,"

We had a little trouble fitting through the door, but other than that it went smoothly. 

~~~

I unwrapped the cloth on her shoulder. The swelling had gone down a bit and it didn't seem to hurt her as much.