Run: 2026-09-23-01M37J25GXW6KSVS6R49CS848T

Molly spread a crayon drawing across the café table. It showed a castle, a dragon, and a lopsided square labeled PRESENTS. “Bill, which entrance is least guarded?” “The one marked Parents Welcome. Nobody checks parents.” Bill wore a plastic firefighter helmet. Molly wore a cardigan with a badge that read HELLO, I AM AUNT. Outside, the birthday party bounced across a suburban lawn. Six children guarded the gift table with foam swords. A golden retriever slept beneath it, one paw resting on a box the size of a refrigerator. Their plan was simple: enter as helpful adults, offer to carry the gifts inside, and keep carrying them until they reached the van. Molly had borrowed the van from her sister, who believed she was moving a sofa. “Can you handle the dog?” Molly asked. “I brought sausages. Can you handle the children?” “I brought stickers.” They crossed the street. At the gate, a little girl handed Bill a foam sword and pointed him toward the dragon painted on the garage door. Molly received a paper crown and instructions to sit beside the presents. Twenty minutes later, Bill was defending a cardboard castle. Molly was cutting cake. Neither could leave without upsetting the birthday girl, who had just promoted them both to royal guards.