Today\u2019s my 97th birthday. I woke up with no candles, no cards, no phone calls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I live in a small room above a closed-down hardware store. The landlord doesn\u2019t charge me much, mostly because I fixed his plumbing last winter. Not much in here besides a creaky bed, a kettle, and my chair by the window. That window\u2019s my favorite\u2014it lets me watch the buses go by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I walked to the bakery two blocks down. The girl behind the counter smiled like she didn\u2019t recognize me, even though I come in every week for day-old bread. I told her, \u201cToday\u2019s my birthday,\u201d and she said, \u201cOh, happy birthday,\u201d like she was reading it off a cue card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I bought a small cake. Vanilla with strawberries. I even had them write \u201cHappy 97th, Mr. L.\u201d on it. Felt silly asking for it, but I did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Back in my room, I set it on the crate I use as a table. Lit a single candle. Sat down, and waited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t know why I expected anyone to come. My son, Eliot, hasn\u2019t called in five years. Last time we spoke, I said something about how his wife talked down to me. Maybe I shouldn\u2019t have. He hung up, and that was that. No calls, no visits. I don\u2019t even know where he lives now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I cut myself a slice. The cake was good. Sweet, soft, fresh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I took a photo of it with my old flip phone. Sent it to the number I still had saved under \u201cEliot.\u201d Just wrote: Happy birthday to me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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