How strange it was to watch them walk through her house, eagerly examining the private spaces of her sheltered life. She worked hard to hide how difficult the collision of her two worlds felt.

“I love this room!” Reece said. He was in the living room, looking out the big windows to the woods, fields, and distant mountains. That was Raven’s favorite room, too. It had log beams and columns, a fieldstone hearth, wood floors covered with rugs, and a soft couch and chairs. The library attached via sliding glass-paned doors.

Jackie and Huck were in the library, poring over the many science books and field guides.

Reece joined them, stopping to look at the skulls on the bone table. “Are these the shrunken heads of the last guys who trespassed into the Forbidden Kingdom?”

“That’s right, so watch your step,” Raven said.

Huck held up the beaver skull. “This is what you’ll look like when Raven’s done with you,” he told Reece.

“Quite an improvement,” Jackie said.

“Really?” Reece said, sticking out his front teeth. “I thought I pretty much looked like that now.”

Raven was starting to feel more comfortable with them in her house. Their playful banter filled the terrible emptiness that had haunted her since Mama went away.

An idea popped to mind. Reece’s birthday was in two days. When he got off work, the four of them would meet at Jackie’s house.

“I’ll make a deal with you,” she said to Reece. “If you can fix the water pump, we’ll have your birthday party here.”

“Nice!” he said. “Start a group invite,” he said to Huck. “We’ll call it ‘Raven’s Rave for Reece.’”

“Good name,” Huck said. He pulled his phone out of his pocket.

“No!” Raven said, grabbing at the phone.

“They’re joking,” Jackie said.

“They better be. I’ve seen how those parties get.”

“Let’s look at the pump and get this party started,” Reece said.

Raven took him outside. In minutes, he figured out what was wrong using just a few tools from the house. He said the switch was out, an easy repair.

“The part is cheap, and I won’t charge you too much for labor,” Reece said. “Just a birthday dinner in the log house of my dreams.”

“What’s your favorite dinner?” she asked.

He looked at Huck and Jackie apologetically. “Prime rib.”

Jackie and Huck groaned.

“I like prime rib, too,” Raven said.

“Great. We’ll send the vegans out to pasture, and we’ll feast.”

“Do you like baked potato?” Raven asked.

“Love it,” Reece said. “Butter and sour cream. Salad for the vegetable. Bleu cheese dressing. Cheesecake for dessert.”

“Wow,” Huck said. “Do you plan to live much past your nineteenth birthday?”

“A day or two,” Reece said.

“You can drive me to the grocery store,” Raven told Jackie. “We’ll plan vegan dishes for you and Huck.”

“You can cook, right?” Huck asked her.

“Of course I can cook.”

“The fancy kitchen makes that obvious,” Reece said. “We’ll have to alter our image of her. I’ll no longer imagine her toasting squirrel on a stick over a fire.”

“I can do that, too,” she said.

The boys laughed.

“It’s a good survival skill,” Raven said.

“Let’s do a non-survivalist menu, okay?” Reece said.

Preparing the party menu made her happier than she’d been in weeks. The cooking did, too.

On the evening of the party, Raven unlocked the gate. It was strange and a little frightening to leave it open and walk away. Jackie and Huck arrived first. Ms. Danner sent candles with a little decorated vegan cake that said, Happy Birthday, Reece. Huck brought a speaker to play music, and Jackie had a bag with presents for Reece.

Reece arrived at about six. He had a long drive from work, and he’d gone home to shower first. He walked in the front door holding up a bottle of champagne and announced, “Happy birthday to me.” The alcohol was unexpected; Reece still rarely drank.

“How’d you get that?” Huck asked.

“My mom, of course,” he said.

He also had a paper bag but wouldn’t show them what was in it. “It’s my birthday entertainment,” he said.

“Fireworks?” Jackie guessed.

“Nope.”

“Music?” Raven asked.

“No.”

“Ferret that rides a little bicycle?” Huck asked.

“Getting warm,” Reece said.

Raven was excited about the dinner. “How do you like your meat cooked?” she asked Reece.

“Mooing,” he said.

“Disgusting,” Jackie said.

Raven had them sit in the living room next to the fire while she cooked. She loved hearing their music, voices, and laughter in her house. Not once had she visualized friends entering her house. She wondered what Mama would think of her party. One of the last things she’d told Raven was to have fun while she was young. Perhaps Mama’s spirit was still with her in some form. Maybe she had broken the water pump switch so all of this would happen.