Run: 2026-09-23-01M37HRPHVKK8R9Y2QG5QANHG8

Molly spread a crayon map across the diner table. Its corners curled around the salt shaker, which she moved onto the kitchen. “Kitchen’s here,” she told Bill. “That’s the salt shaker.” “It was weighing down the map. Try to keep up.” Bill squinted at a blue rectangle. “Swimming pool?” “Bouncy castle.” “Good. I can’t swim.” “We’re not entering through the bouncy castle. We’re entering through the front gate at two thirty, when the magician starts.” Bill stirred his coffee. “I thought we were sneaking in.” “We are. We’ll be disguised as guests.” “At a children’s party?” “Children arrive with adults, Bill. That’s how most of them get there.” “So whose adult am I?” “Mine. I’m your aunt.” “You’re younger than me.” “And you’ve had a difficult life. Nobody will ask.” Bill looked down at his outfit: black turtleneck, black jeans, black gloves. “Should I change?” “You look like a burglar in a school play. Yes.” “To what?” “Something a person would wear to a party.” “A better black turtleneck?” Molly slid a paper crown across the table. Bill picked it up between two gloved fingers. “This says ‘Birthday Princess.’” “It came with a disguise kit.” “Was there a prince?” “There was. I’m wearing it.” “That doesn’t seem fair.” “You can have the little plastic sword.” Bill placed the crown on his head. It caught on his hair. “All right. We go in, watch the magician, then what?” “Presents are stacked beside the back door. I’ll announce that I’m helping carry them inside before the rain starts.” “Is it going to rain?” “No. I’ll point at a cloud.” “Which cloud?” “Any cloud. People don’t check them that closely.” Bill studied the map again. “Where am I?” “You bring the car around.” “Last time I brought the car around, you said I’d parked too far away.” “Last time you brought the car around a different house.” “The numbers looked similar.” “One was twelve. The other was eighty-one.” “I read them upside down.” A waitress set two slices of pie on the table. Molly waited until she left. “Listen carefully. We do not take the cake.” “Did I say anything about cake?” “You’ve been looking at the cake on that flyer for ten minutes.” Bill folded the flyer shut. “It’s got three layers.” “We take the presents and leave. Quietly.” “What if a child sees us?” “We say we’re moving the presents somewhere dry.” “What if the child asks where?” “The dining room.” “And if we’re already in the dining room?” Molly took a bite of pie. “Bill, can you remember one sentence without improving it?” “Depends on the sentence.” “‘Your mum asked me to move these.’” Bill nodded. “That’s good. Whose mum?” “Any mum.” “They might ask me her name.” “Then say ‘your mum’ again and keep walking.” Bill practiced under his breath, then reached for the map. “There’s a problem.” “What?” “The address is on the back of the flyer.” “So?” He turned it over. In bright letters it read: PRESENTS WELCOME. NO GIFTS, PLEASE. Molly stared. “That’s contradictory.” “No, it’s addressed to the parents. They mean the children’s presence.” “So there won’t be presents.” Bill lifted his crown. “We could go for the cake.” Molly looked at the three pink layers. “Change your shirt first.”