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Verso was turning the big 4 0, and though his joints started to ache about 10 years ago and his hair had a strikingly white strip growing in, he was happy. Of course, life was messy, with good and bad, ups and downs, but Verso considered himself quite fortunate with the hand he was dealt. Growing up extremely wealthy afforded him luxuries some could only dream of. He had amazing lifelong friends. And he’s been happily married to the love of his life, Gracie, for almost 11 years at this point. Gracie and Verso had a rocky start, but with patience, open communication, and lots of make-up sex, they fell in love. They experienced 3 quiet, blissful years of marriage before bringing their eldest daughter, Amelia, into their world. After that, life became noticeably less quiet, and the blissfulness, though still present, was tempered by sleepless nights and an ungodly number of blowouts. But he was happy.
Life eventually settled into a comfortable rhythm, but the Dessendres were a family of artists who valued creativity and spontaneity over the mundane. So, 2 years after the arrival of their first pride and joy, they welcomed their son Theo. Thankfully, Theo was more reserved than his older sister. He was content to watch and listen to the world around him from the comfort of his papoose. Theo preferred to be strapped to papa since papa was taller, allowing him to see more. But there was something about maman that could put him at ease no matter the circumstance.
Life moved on, the seasons changed, the sun and moon continued their eternal dance, but the Dessendres were happy. Jessa was their happy accident. She made her dramatic debut during Verso’s 38th birthday party in the middle of Paris’s newest Michelin-starred restaurant. But what else could you expect from a Dessendre?
And just like always, life continued to move forward. The next couple of years were rocky, but they were kind to them. But now it was time to celebrate a milestone. Turning 40 was a big deal. Another decade down with several more to go. What better way to celebrate this achievement than having a get-together with his closest friends and family?
The doorbell rang, and the sound of small feet raced towards the front door.
“Amelia, I wanna open the door. Papa said I could.” Theo pouted.
“Well, I am the oldest, so I get first rights,” Amelia said and nudged Theo out of the way.
“Children, please. You both can take turns opening the door.” Gracie yelled from the kitchen. All Verso could do was chuckle and shake his head before returning to his piano. Jessa was perched on his lap, snuggled against his chest, listening contently.
Amelia opened the door, hoping to see Aunt Sophie, Uncle Gustave, and her cousins Liam and Charlotte. But all she was greeted with was grandma, grandpa, and Aunt Alicia with her new baby, Maelle.
“Hi, Grandma, hi, Grandpa. Hi, Aunt Alicia.” Amelia said dejectedly.
Renoir huffed in amusement, “Are you not happy to see us, ma cherie?”
“Of course I am. I was just hoping to see Liam.” Amelia muttered with a tinge of red on her cheeks.
“Yeah, because she has a crushhhhhh,” Theo mocked in a sing-song tune.
“DO NOT!” Amelia shouted, her face no longer a slight shade of red but a bright one instead.
Aline smiled in amusement at her grandchildren’s antics, “Alright ma petites, where are your maman and papa?”
Theo grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the kitchen, mindlessly chattering about his new friend that he had made at school. Aline listened intently, following the chatty boy with Alicia and Renoir on the duo’s heels. Amelia moved to the sitting room next to the main entrance and stared out the window. Everyone should be here soon, and then she could recruit Theo, Liam, and Charlotte to help with Papa’s present.
The next to arrive was Aunt Clea and Uncle Simon. Aunt Clea was holding a giant box in her hands. She always gave the best presents. Amelia opened the door with a sugary sweet smile.
“Hi, Aunt Clea and Uncle Simon. Is that for Papa? Here I can take it.” Amelia said, reaching for the box.
Clea quickly swatted at Amelia’s grubby hands, “Paws off, Amelia, I know what game you are playing. This is for your papa to open, not you.”
“I just wanted to guess what was inside it.” Amelia pouted.
“Nice try, kiddo. Where are your parents?” Clea smirked.
Amelia led Clea and Simon to the dining area, where all the adults had taken refuge. They were ogling over baby Maelle. Amelia couldn’t understand the fascination with Maelle, she was just a baby. Babies were loud and smelly. However, Amelia could admit that Maelle was a little cute with her tuft of fiery red hair. But Amelia was 8, almost 9, and she was too grown to swoon over cute babies.
The doorbell pulled Amelia from her thoughts. She ran over and swung the door open. It was Aunt Lune, Aunt Sciel, their husband Pierre, and their daughter Aubrey.
“Hi, Aunt Lune, Aunt Sciel, and Uncle Pierre,” Amelia said, hugging each one.
“My, I swear, every time I come over, you get bigger and bigger.” Sciel laughed and ruffled Amelia’s hair to Amelia’s absolute dismay. Amelia grumbled and pulled away.
The trio walked into the house and towards where all the activity seemed to be happening, leaving Amelia alone once again. All who were left to arrive were Aunt Sophie, Uncle Gustave, Liam, and Charlotte. Time seemed to drag with the endless wait and the indistinct chatter in the background. But they finally arrived. Amelia opened the door before Gustave could even knock.
“Looks like someone was waiting for us.” Gustave gave Amelia a fond smile. At the sound of Gustave’s voice, Theo ran out of the dining room.
Amelia hugged Aunt Sophie and Uncle Gustave and asked, “Can Theo and I play with Charlotte and Liam?”
“Of course, you all have fun and stay out of trouble,” Sophie said before walking towards the dining room, hand in hand with her husband.
Amelia pulled the other 3 children to her room, “Guys, I have a very important mission that I need your help with.”
Theo groaned, “I don’t like the sound of this. The last time you said that, we were grounded for a week.”
“Trust me, this time is for a good cause. You know how Papa is always complaining about how his piano is old and he needs to get it repainted?” Amelia turned to her 3 co-conspirators, who all nodded in agreement. “Well, I thought we could save them some money and do it ourselves for his birthday. Aunt Clea gave us those really nice acrylic paint sets for Christmas.” Amelia said while digging out the paint sets.
This time, it was Liam who chimed in, “I don't know Amelia, I am pretty sure you need special paint when you repaint a piano.”
“This is special paint, see it says special acrylic paint on the bottle.” Amelia scoffed and pointed at the word “special” plastered in bright, bold letters on the label.
Liam did not seem convinced but knew better than to argue with Amelia once she set her mind to something.
“I think it’s sweet. And it could be fun!” Charlotte said enthusiastically.
“Thank you, Charlotte. See why can’t y’all be more like her?” Amelia said with a shake of her head and an exaggerated eye roll.
Liam responded, “Alright, fine. What do we need to do?”
Amelia rummaged through her drawer. “Well, it needs to be a surprise, so we need someone on lookout duty.” She turned with a pair of walkie-talkies in her hands and held one out towards Liam.
“Aww, but I wanna be on lookout duty,” Theo whined.
“Too bad, the last time you were on lookout duty, we got grounded.” Amelia scolded. “Now, the best time would be after dessert. All the adults will be in the sitting room talking and drinking. That should give us enough time to paint Papa’s piano. Liam, you will stay outside the piano room. If any adult comes by, you need to distract them.”
“And what if I can’t distract them?” Liam asked.
“Then say ‘adult’ into the walkie-talkie so we can hide,” Amelia responded with the unwavering confidence that only a child could muster.
“What are we painting?” Theo asked.
Amelia paused at the question, almost as if she hadn’t thought that far ahead, “Something pretty. We will figure it out once we get there.” Amelia said while gathering the rest of the supplies.
Just then, the door to Amelia’s room opened. Verso popped his head in and took in the scene before him. “What’s going on in here?” he asked.
Theo chirped, “Oh, Amelia was just showing us the paint we are gonna use to paint your pi-” but was quickly cut off by his elder sister's hand.
“Picture. We were going to paint you a picture for your birthday, Papa.” Amelia stammered out with a look of pure innocence.
Verso narrowed his eyes at the suspicious group in front of him, “I can’t wait to see my picture. But we first need to have dinner, let's go.” Verso said and held the door open. All 4 children shuffled out, oddly quiet.
Dinner and dessert went off without a hitch, with singing, laughing, and new memories created. However, the most memorable part of Verso’s 40th birthday had yet to occur. Once dessert was finished and the plates were cleaned, the 4 kids were dismissed. Amelia sent Liam and Theo to the music room to make sure no one had wandered in. Once she received the all clear, she and Charlotte lugged the paint and brushes down the long corridor. Liam stood outside the music room, alert and ready to take his duty seriously. He was a formidable figure, as formidable as a 10-year-old can really be. Once he noticed Charlotte and Amelia, he gave them a quiet yet solemn nod. Amelia couldn’t help but blush, and no, it wasn’t because she had a stupid crush on him. The duo entered the music room and quietly closed the door behind them. Theo was sitting on the piano bench, softly humming the song Papa composed for him as an infant. It was one of Theo’s favorites.
The music room was a quaint room with soft grey walls, dark wood floors, and one of Papa’s paintings hung on each wall. The back wall’s painting depicted Papa’s childhood creation, Esquie, flying over a sprawling city reminiscent of Paris, named Lumerie. The left wall featured a painting of a river illuminated by bright blue, bell-like lanterns; it was hauntingly serene. The right wall was of a bustling marketplace filled with paintbrush figures called Gestrals. Papa said that he created these paintings when he was younger and that he and Aunt Clea would make fantastical stories for each painting. At the center of the room stood a massive, grand piano with a rich black finish and soft ivory keys. Despite its undeniable beauty, it was clear that it had been well-loved. Areas of the finish were starting to fade with time, and there was a small hairline fracture spreading from one of the legs of the piano to the case.
Amelia and Charlotte set the supplies down, and Theo jumped off the piano bench to join them. Amelia took in her surroundings. The Sacred River painting was always her favorite. She enjoyed that, though the scene was dark; it was a place of rebirth and new life. Which is kind of what they were doing with Papa’s piano, giving it new life, right?
“I know what we are painting!” Amelia exclaimed and pointed at the painting.
“Aww but it's so dark.” Theo protested.
“Remember what Aunt Clea taught us, that the best paintings use complementary colors. The piano is dark already, and we don’t have enough paint or time to paint over it.” Amelia responded.
“Oooo, I think that's a great idea,” Charlotte said.
“Fine.” Theo pouted, clearly seeing he had been outvoted.
The group pulled out the required colors and got to work. They started by painting the river flowing from the top right corner of the lid, down through the middle, and ending in a large pool at the rounded curve of the lid. Next they added the dark purple trees and the surrounding dark green grass with tiny blue flowers scattered carelessly. Lastly, there were the blue lanterns. Amelia instructed Theo to create a border of lanterns around the case while she and Charlotte worked on the lanterns for the lid. Theo did so without complaint, but decided to add his own little touch.
Meanwhile, the adults sat comfortably in the sitting room, talking while watching Jessa and Aubrey play with some blocks in the center of the room.
“So Alicia, how is motherhood treating you?” Sciel said while cooing at Maelle, who was frankly unamused.
“Rough, but I wouldn’t trade her for anything,” Alicia said with a tired but happy smile as she looked upon her daughter fondly. “She is definitely a grandpa’s girl.” And right on cue, Malle started to fuss while leaning towards Renoir, who gathered the small infant in his arms without complaint.
“Have you heard anything more from the father?” Verso asked, his grip on his glass tightened slightly.
“No, he has pretty much dropped off the face of the earth,” Alicia said sadly.
“I still think we should teach that punk a lesson,” Gustave growled and flexed his prosthetic arm while Verso hummed in agreement.
Sophie quickly placed a comforting hand on Gustave’s shoulder and interjected, “You guys won't be any help from jail. It is shitty, but the best thing we can do right now is rally around Alicia.” This was met with a chorus of agreements.
Just then, Maelle started to fuss again. “How about we head to the music room. I have been working on a piece for Maelle.” Verso said.
“I will clean up and meet y’all there,” Gracie said, kissing Verso’s cheek before picking up the empty glasses.
The rest of the group got up and headed toward the music room. They were greeted by Liam sitting in front of the door, reading a book.
“Liam, what's going on? Where are your sister, Amelia, and Theo?” Sophie asked, concerned.
At the sound of his mother’s voice, Liam shot up but stayed in front of the door, “They are playing in Theo’s room.”
“Why are you guarding the music room?” Gustave asked.
“Oh, um, because I saw a bug in there, and you know how Amelia hates bugs.” Liam stuttered, his pitch getting slightly higher the longer he rambled on.
Verso stepped in front of the frantic boy, “That's okay, Liam, I can handle the bug.” Verso said while going to grab the handle.
“You can’t go in there!” Liam screamed and pushed Verso's hand away while pulling out the walkie-talkie.
Verso took a step back, surprised. Gustave and Sophie’s son was always a polite and meek boy. This outburst was unusual, and if he was being honest, this whole thing felt suspicious.
“Liam Alexandre!” Sophie grabbed the boy by the ear, causing Liam to drop the walkie-talkie.
With Liam out of the way, Verso swung open the door and walked in, “What is going on in here-” Verso stopped at the sight in front of him. Amelia, Charlotte, and Theo all looked up from their work. The rest of the adults stopped behind Verso; most were silent, but some gasped at the ruined piano in front of them. Amelia and Charlotte were silent, their eyes filled with a look of guilt as they felt the disapproval radiating from the adults. Theo, on the other hand, did not sense the change in mood.
“Hi, Papa, come look at what we did. We repainted your piano just for you.” Theo ran over and grabbed Verso’s hand, dragging him towards the case. “Look, what I painted! See that is you, Esquie, maman, Amelia, me, and Jessa all holding hands!” Theo said with a proud smile.
Verso was stunned and quietly muttered, “M-my piano…”
“D-do you not like it?” Theo asked sadly.
Just then, Gracie entered the room, “Oh god, what did y’all do?” She walks up to the piano, horrified.
Amelia responded, looking at her feet, “We wanted to paint Papa’s piano for his birthday since he is always talking about needing to get it repainted.”
“Yes, but not with acrylic paint, Amelia! They have to use a very specific paint so it doesn’t ruin the piano!” Gracie said loudly before pacing.
Amelia stammered at the word ruin, “But maman, we didn’t mean to ruin papa’s piano. We just wanted to do something special for him.”
“I understand that, Amelia, but even our best intentions can have negative consequences. Now we will need to see if we can have this fixed, and if we can’t, then we will need to purchase a new piano.”
At this point, Gustave and Sophie had pulled their two children into the hallway to scold them as well, while Theo and Amelia looked at the floor, slightly ashamed. “We are sorry, Papa.” They both said in unison.
Verso was still processing and did not have the energy to respond. Aline stepped in and grabbed her grandchildren’s hands, “Let's give your papa a moment. I think it is time for bed.” Before leading them out of the room.
The rest of their guests took this as their cue to leave. They began to shuffle out with muted happy birthdays and farewells. Before Gustave left, he placed a hand on Verso’s shoulder and said, “I am so sorry, man. Just let me know how much it will cost to fix your piano, and I will cover half.”
“I-it’s fine. Thanks, though, Gustave. I will see you later.” Verso said and attempted a smile before returning to his thoughts.
A few hours later, Gracie had put Jessa down and checked in on both of her older troublemakers. She returned to the music room to find Verso playing one of his favorite pieces. She sat down next to him and laid her head on his shoulder.
“Well, it sounds like it still works… I am so sorry, Verso. We can call a restoration place tomorrow.”
Verso got up and walked to the family portrait, smiling down at it, “I think I like it like this. It makes it special.”
“It does give it character.”
“Not to mention it’s kind of amazing they were able to organize all of this.”
Gracie got up and walked around to Verso’s back. She wrapped her arms around his torso and placed a soft kiss between his shoulder blades. “We do have some pretty crafty kids, don’t we?” She said with a smile.
Verso just chuckled, “We do.” He then let out a sigh, “I’ll need to apologize for my reaction tomorrow.”
“That is tomorrow’s problem. Now come on, your birthday isn’t over yet.” Gracie smirked before grabbing her husband's hand leading him to his final present for the night.