“Mommy! Kis took Mimi!” A child's voice pierced the quiet morning. Groaning, Tina turned off the mixer and made her way to the living room where she found her two middle children squabbling over a doll for the third time that morning. “Gi' Mimi back, Kis!” The little girl screamed again.

“Christopher!” Both children froze and looked toward their mother. “Give your sister back her doll this instant!” The boy let go of the toy and his sister pulled it back, clutching it to her chest. “What is it with you, young man? How many times do I have to tell you not to tease your sister?”

“She started it! She kept putting that dumb doll in my face.” Chris said defiantly.

“Mimi's not dumb!” His sister broke in.

“That's enough! Both of you!” Tina closed her eyes and slowly counted to five before continuing. “Chris, I'm sure Maria was only trying to play...”

“Boy's don't play with dolls!” Her son interrupted. “Tony said so.”

Tina gave a mental sigh, Chris adored his older brother and anything Tony said was Gospel in Chris' eyes. “I'm sure Tony says a lot of things but there is nothing wrong with playing with your sister.”

“I'm not playing with no stupid doll.”

“Mommy, Kis said Mimi's stupid!”

“Quiet! Chris, go play in your room for awhile. I have to finish making your brother's cake for his party this afternoon and if I have to keep coming in here to stop the two of you from fighting I'll never get it done.” Her son started to protest but she cut him off, “Now!”

Grumbling, Chris stood and stalked off to the room he shared with his older brother. As he entered the room, Tina called out, “Don't even think of slamming that door, young man.” She heard Chris mumble something about not planning to as he closed the door quietly.

“Maria, would you like to come help me make your brother's cake?” Tina asked the child who was still clutching her doll. “You can sit at the table and read the recipe to me.”

Maria smiled and nodded, her long, dark curls bobbing around cheeks that had yet to lose their baby fat. Though only three, the child had shown a keen interest in cooking and Tina encouraged it by allowing Maria to think she was helping when Tina prepared meals. Usually by sitting the child at the table, placing a cookbook in front of her, and making the appropriate noises as Maria “read” the recipe to her.

As they headed back to the kitchen Tina stopped and picked up her youngest son from his playpen and gave him a hug. “I'm glad your not old enough yet to fight with your sister and brothers.” Her nose wrinkled as a noxious oder assailed her nose. “But I will be happy when you're old enough I don't have to worry about dirty diapers.”

From her side Maria added, “Manny stinky.”

***

The cake was finally out of the oven and cooling on a rack in the kitchen. Tina looked at the clock on the wall and smiled. Despite the distractions of the morning she was ahead of schedule getting things ready for her oldest son's birthday party. That meant she had a few minutes to sit down and watch some of her soaps before she needed to begin decorating. She really wanted to know whether that horrid Wendy woman was really Sarrah's long lost sister everyone thought was dead and did not want to wait until she could watch it on the DVR after the kids had gone to bed.

After digging the TV's remote control out of the pocket on the side of Philip's recliner, why that guy could never put the remote back on the table beside the couch she never could figure out, she turned on the TV and settled down. Just as they were ready to reveal the truth the chimes of the doorbell sounded throughout the house, Tina thought about just ignoring it but the sound of the front door opening drew her to her feet.

Crime being almost unheard of in that neighborhood, Tina was not really afraid as she called out, “Hello?”

“Hey Mom, I'm home!” Called a boy's voice from the entryway.

Tina smiled at the voice of her oldest son, “Hey sweetheart, what are you doing home so early? And why did you ring the bell?”

“That was Eddie, I told him to just go in but he said that was rude and rang the bell.” Tony answered

Tina laughed, “So, how come you're home early? You didn't give your Aunt Karen a hard time did you?”

“Nah, he listened perfectly. I just brought him home early 'cause I thought you might like some help getting ready for this afternoon.” Tina's best friend was standing by the door with a couple of bags of paper plates and other party goods in her hands.

“Are you sure you're talking about my son?” Tina said jokingly. “Everyone always tells me how well he listens, I wish he did that at home.”

“Hi, Aunt Tina.” Karen's son Eddie said, pushing past his mother and giving Tina a hug.

“Hey there, Eddie. Are you ready for the party?”

“You bet, I have Tony's present right here. Wanna know what it is?

Tina laughed, “I think it would be better to let Tony open it first so it's a surprise, how's that sound?” Eddie nodded and placed his burden on the table by the door. Karen's son was a year younger than Tina's oldest but the two boys were as good friends as their mothers.

“Tony, why don't you help your Aunt take those bags to the kitchen. Eddie, you can help him.”

The two boys groaned in unison but took the bags and headed off. As they went Tina called after them, “When your done you can both go outside and play for a while and get your brother on your way out.”

Both women smiled at the resulting whoop.

Leading Karen into the kitchen Tina asked, “Would you like some coffee?”

“Do you even have to ask?”

Tina retrieved her cup and took a second one down from the cabinet. Soon both women were sitting at the table with steaming cups of in front of them, the rich coffee smell overpowering the lingering smell of freshly baked cake. Karen took a few sips before giving Tina a sly grin.

“You know, I had another motive for getting here early today. You're looking at the coordinator for this year's bake sale and I need an assistant. Guess who volunteered.”

“Karen, you didn't! You know how busy I am. I'm all ready volunteering ten hours a week with the church and with the scouts, little league, and all I barely have any time as it is. How can I help you organize the bake sale?”

Her friend chuckled, “Don't worry, I'll be doing all the work. I just need you to make sure I don't forget anything. You know how scatter brained I can be sometimes.”

“Don't I. I swear, if your head wasn't attached you would leave it behind somewhere.” Tina teased. “Okay, if that's all I need to do count me in.”

“That's all.” Karen grinned, “Well, almost all. You're still going to bring one of your famous Chocolate Covered Cherry cakes aren't you?”

Tina laughed. “Of course, do you think I want to be lynched?”

The reference to the threat made by previous purchasers of said cake brought a smile to Karen's lips. “Good, though I think you might have to make more than one this year if we want to avoid a riot.”

Having Karen around was always good for a laugh.

***

Two hours later, after having seen her two youngest off with Karen, Tina looked over the house making sure everything was ready. Having Karen there to help her had made putting up the large banner Philip had made on his computer much easier than it would have been on her own and she was glad her friend had come by to help. The banner was decorated with all things baseball, from gloves, to bats, to the logo of his favorite team and read “Happy 8th Birthday, Tony.” Tina could not wait for him to see it.

Streamers formed a canopy over the dining table with the banner hung over the chair Tony would occupy when he blew out the candles on his cake. Balloons were taped in clusters at the points the streamers were attached to the walls and ceiling. Blowing them up had been an adventure and Tina and Karen had shared many laughs as Karen kept losing them as she tried to tie them off and balloons flew everywhere.

The three boys were still playing in the yard; she would have to call them in soon to get cleaned up before the guests started to arrive. Soon there would be nearly two dozen young boys filling the house and Tina almost wondered why she had gone to the trouble to make sure the house was spotless. There was no doubt in her mind; within the first half hour the carefully cleaned floors would be dirtier than before she had mopped and vacuumed them.

This was the first birthday party she had hosted at home for any of her children and she was somewhat nervous with there being so many children. Fortunately one of the other moms had offered to stay for the party, instead of just dropping her son off, and help keep order. Tina had wanted Karen to stay but Karen did not handle crowded situations well and would not have been any help. It would have also meant having to worry about Maria and Manny as well and she knew she was not up to that.

Tina went over the list of preparations in her head. House clean and all breakables put away? Check. Dining room decorated and party favors laid out? Check. Children's party games set up and ready to go? Check. Maria and Manny safely in Karen's hands until the madness was over? Check.

All she had left to do was finish decorating the cake.

***

“C'mon Eddie, swing higher.” Tony yelled as his friend took his turn at the swinging piñata. Eddie swung a little higher and connected with the target, breaking it and sending treats flying everywhere. Laughing the kids scrambled for them as Eddie pulled the blindfold from his eyes.

“Hey, leave some for me, I broke it.” He yelled joining he chaos.

Her earlier fears forgotten, Tina watched the children with joy. So far the party had gone off without a hitch; there had been no fights, the kids had listened to both herself and Brenda, and everyone was having fun. Asking Brenda to keep an eye on things Tina went back in the house and uncovered the cake.

Tina did not often give in to pride but she was proud of how her son's birthday cake had turned out. She had baked it in a rectangular pan and then iced it in green tinted frosting to look like grass. Then she had taken chocolate frosting and drew a diamond at one end and added little squares of white to each corner and connected them with lines of white. When she was finished the cake resembled a tiny baseball field.

Now she placed a candle in eight of the nine positions on a team, leaving out only the shortstop position. She briefly wished she had waited until next year when she could have put a candle in every position but as much as Tony loved baseball she knew he would love the cake even with the wrong number of “players.”

The candles in place, Tina went to the back door and called out, “Who wants cake?”

A chorus of “I do.” assailed her as nineteen boys; All of Tony's Little League team, a few of Tony's friends from school and church, Eddie, Chris, and the birthday boy himself, all ran for the door.

“Whoa, slow down.” Tina laughed as they almost knocked her over in their hurry.

The dining room being too small to accommodate all the children at the table, Tina had set up some card tables on the back porch for the kids to sit at while they ate but planned to have Tony sit at the dining table, under the banner his father had made, while he blew out the candles on his cake. Tina made sure everyone had a party hat in place then went to the kitchen. Carrying the cake back to the other room, Tina stopped in the doorway and began to sing “Happy Birthday.” Soon all the kids had joined in and Tina walked forward with the cake, placing on the table in front of her son.

All her hard work on it was rewarded by the look on her son's eyes as he took in the cake she had worked on so lovingly. Around the room could be heard, “Make a wish” or “Blow out the candles.” Tony took a deep breath, puckered his lips, and blew with all his might knowing he needed to blow them all out in one breath if his wish were to come true.

The tiny flames erupted into a fireball engulfing the room.

***

Tina awoke with perspiration dripping from her brow and a scream on her lips. The nightmare had seemed so real it took her a moment to remember where she was. When she did she tumbled from her bed, stumbled to the bathroom, and threw up.

Rinsing her mouth out, Tina looked at herself in the mirror above the sink The nightmares were getting worse and the bags under her eyes showed just how little sleep she had been getting. Opening the medicine cabinet, Tina took out the bottle of sleeping pills her doctor had prescribed for nights such as this. She could not live like this anymore, she had to do something.

Tina dumped the contents of the bottle into her open palm and thought how easy it would be to end the nightmares and pain. The means were sitting there in her hand if she only followed through. Her hand was going to her mouth when the memory of her children stayed her hand. A promise had been made; a promise to avenge those four innocent lives. Until that promise was fulfilled there was no rest for her, no peace.

Returning the pills to their bottle, Tina went back to the bedroom and donned her costume. There would be no more sleep for her this night but maybe she could do some good.