Abbey had phoned earlier in the day to wish him Happy Birthday, and had apologized for not coming to celebrate with him. Since Jed’s death she had barely left the Farm, let alone New Hampshire, and he had promised to go visit as soon as he could. He missed his two oldest friends, especially on occasions like today. In fact he missed all of them.

The knocking of the door aroused him from his thoughts

“I’ll get it,” Margaret called, drying her hands on a tea towel as she headed down the hall.

Opening the door she smiled and motioned for the guests to be quiet. “Grandpa’s in the sitting room,” she whispered to the two small boys.

Jack and Daniel Lyman took off down the hallway, giggling and launching themselves at the armchair.

As she greeted Donna with a kiss and Josh with a hug, Margaret couldn’t help but grin at Leo’s cry and the sound of the television switching over to cartoons. Leading the way she took their guests back to the sitting room.

“You didn’t tell me they were coming,” Leo muttered, a child on either knee.

Margaret shrugged in his general direction and with a bob of her head turned back to the kitchen. If he was surprised now, he was going to have a fit by the time the others arrived.

“You didn’t tell him?” Donna asked, laying the sack of chips and dips on the counter.

“It’s been ten years, I don’t tell him everything,” she replied, going back to sticking candles into the cake.

“How many candles are you going with?” Donna asked peering over her shoulder.

“He’s sixty five,” Margaret said matter of factly, as if anything less would be acceptable.

Donna groaned as the doorbell rang.

Mallory stood on the doorstep, baby carrier in one hand and a small red-haired girl clutching her hand. “Hey Donna. Richard’s just parking the car. Seems there was a SUV in our normal space.”

“That’s ours. Margaret’s in the kitchen, Leo’s in the sitting room.”

“Dad, it’s me,” Mallory called, wrestling with the two children. Happy Birthday.”

Leo looked up from his conversation with Josh and shook his head. “Margaret.”

“You called,” Margaret said, walking back into the room.

“Was this your doing?” he asked gruffly.

“Oh, stop your complaining will you? You’re loving every minute of it,” Margaret snorted. And she knew he did. His face was practically glowing and he had been in animated conversation ever since Josh arrived.

Leo shook his head and gave her one of his heart stopping grins. “You’re a good girl.”

“I’m hardly a girl.”

“But you’re my girl.”

There wasn’t much she could say to that. She had pretty much been his girl since he had hired her as his assistant, then somewhere along the years she had fallen in love with him. Granted, it had taken him that little bit longer to love her, but since leaving office he had more than made up for it.

“I have things to do,” she said, spinning around and walking out.

“How are my granddaughters?” Leo grinned, inspecting the baby carrier and lifting his three year angel onto his lap.

“They’re fine, but your knees.”

Leo waved her off and turned up the volume on the television. It was his birthday and he didn’t want to be nagged at, plus his hearing was going, ever so slightly but all the same.

By the time Sam arrived fifteen minutes later, the children were sitting around the television at Leo’s feet and the women had congregated in the kitchen.

Six year old Abigail Jean Seaborn went tearing across the room and jumped into her grandpa’s lap.

“Hey pumpkin,” Leo greeted, kissing her on the forehead. “Hey Sam, where’s that wife of yours?”

“In court. The State vs. Loe shipping. She’s main counsel and all fired up because they polluted the Potomac and the liability shield means they don’t have to pay up,” Sam explained, taking the couch next to Josh. “She’s out to change the law.”

“Sounds familiar,” Leo chortled.

“Anyone for cider or juice?” Margaret asked, placing a tray on the small side table. “Abigail, get off grandpa’s legs, will you, please.”

“She’s okay.”

“Leo,” Margaret said firmly, her eyes giving him a gentle warning.

“You’d better climb down sweetie,” Leo said reluctantly. “Grandma Margaret says so.”

“Leo.”

“What?” he teased, his hands in a ‘What’ gesture.

“You promised. Don’t encourage them.”

“Grandma!”

“Grandma,” came a cry of little voices.

“That’s it, no cake and no coffee,” Margaret announced glaring.

“But I want cake,” Jack yelled.

Margaret shook her head in frustration. “You can have cake. Grandpa can go without.”

“You can’t deny a man coffee,” Josh scoffed.

“I think I have proved on many occasions you can, Joshua. It’s as easy as denying sex,” Donna added, her face a picture of innocence.

Josh paled and looked around frantically. “Um, er, when ‘s CJ getting here?”

Leo looked at him knowingly and stole a glance at Margaret who was pouring glasses of juice for the children.

“That would be them now,” Margaret nodded, as the doorbell rang.

“Sorry we’re late but the traffic was a nightmare,” CJ said, hugging Margaret and glaring at Toby over her shoulder.

“Well if we’d left before nine o’clock it would have been fine,” Toby growled, nodding at Margaret and following CJ into the house.

“You’re the one who wasn’t dressed when I came to pick him up.” CJ gave him one more final glare and went to greet Leo.

“What’s new Claudia Jean?” Leo asked chuckling as his two former staffers continued to argue in silence.

“Toby’s a jackass.”

“And you’re a bed of roses,” Toby groaned, shaking Leo’s hand and waving around the room.

“Son of a …”

“CHILDREN,” Margaret screamed above the increasing volume of the television and the bickering. “Play nicely. It’s Leo’s birthday.”

The room fell silent as they all focused on Leo. A few mutterings of “Sorry” and “Happy Birthday” followed as Margaret and CJ handed out drinks to everyone.

That done, Margaret disappeared into the kitchen, only to return a few seconds later pushing the birthday cake. Motioning to CJ to switch off the lights, Margaret positioned the cake in front of Leo.

“Make a wish,” she encouraged, as the children gathered around hopefully.

“You gonna help me?” he asked the four kids, their eyes wide.

On the count of ten as the adults sang Happy Birthday, the five of them blew out the candles.

“Did you make a wish?” Mallory asked, as she bounced the baby on her lap.

“That would be telling,” he smirked, watching as Margaret pulled out a knife and began to cut the cake.

“Can we have a story?” Jack asked, crossing his legs and looking up at his honorary grandfather.

“True story. About Daddy,” Daniel suggested.

“My Daddy,” Abbey shouted, settling herself between the two boys.

Leo shook his head and watched as Sam and Josh exchanged worried glances. “Maybe another day, when you’re older. Wouldn’t want to scar you for life,” he added, smirking at Josh. “I have another story for you.”

Leo waited until everyone was quiet and Margaret was in her usual place, hovering by the doorway before he began.

“Once upon a time, there was a grumpy old man. He was miserable because things weren’t going so well with him. Then there was this beautiful red head, who took care of him and tried to make his life better.”

“Ick, they’re gonna kiss,” Jack whined.

“Ssh, “Abbey warned, slapping him upside the head.

“Ready. So the old man began to take the girl for granted, accepting that she was always going to be there. Life went on and they remained friends. But one night something really exciting happened. . .”

“Like an election?”

Leo grinned, “Exactly an election. And the man knew who he wanted to celebrate it with. So he found the girl in her office and kissed her.”

Margaret leaned against the doorframe, remembering that it was slightly more than a kiss that night, and laughing as the boys scrunched their faces up in disgust.

“It was then that he realised he was in love with her. And he was almost as clueless as Josh.”

Josh pouted from the couch. “You had five more years than me.”

“My mistake,” Leo muttered. Taking a deep breath he continued. “And he decided that day he was never again going to take her for granted and he wanted to spend the rest of her life with her.”

“Is that it?” Abbey groaned.

“I have a feeling there’s an epilogue to all this,” Mallory grinned, catching a twinkle in her father’s eyes.

“Epilogue. Closing speech. Grandpa is there an epilogue?” Jack asked.

Leo nodded and motioned for Mallory’s little girl to come over. Slipping his hand into his pocket, he pulled out a small box and pressed it into Jenny’s hands. Leaning in, he whispered against her ear and watched as she bounced across the room.

“One day the not so grumpy old man decided that as much as he loved the girl, and wanted to spend his life with her, he also wanted her to be legally required to be there. So he asked her to be his wife. . .” He stopped as Jenny handed the small green box to Margaret.

Margaret fingered the box and glanced at Leo hesitantly. Tears welled up in her eyes as she popped open the lid and saw the emerald setting.

“Well, is that it?” Daniel groaned. “Did she marry him?”

Leo raised himself shakily from the chair and took a few steps in the direction of the door. “Well did she?” he asked quietly.

Margaret looked into his eyes and back at the ring. “What took you so long?”

“When you leave I leave. Wherever you go, I go, you said. When was I supposed to buy the ring?” Leo mock grumbled. “So wanna marry a grumpy old man?”

Margaret shook her red hair from the streams of tears and nodded. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly as everyone in the room, including Leo, grinned.

Sometimes Birthday wishes do come true and sometimes people do live happily ever after.

The End