Mistaken identity

It was afternoon in the town of Warwick, and the sky was completely free of clouds. It was a quiet town in the heart of England, and today was no different. In a small street, away from the relative bustle of the shopping area, some balloons on a gate indicated that something was out of the ordinary. A middle-aged woman was scuttling around in the little garden, pruning the rosebushes and clearing stray weeds from the path. An elderly neighbour poked his head over the hedge to find out the reason for such haste.
         “Good afternoon, Mary! My, you’re in quite a rush today, is someone coming to visit?”
         Mary looked at her, puzzled for an instant, and then laughed a little, looking relieved. “Why, do you know, I had forgotten myself! I knew there must be a reason for clearing up the garden, I just couldn’t remember why! But yes indeed, I’m preparing for a birthday party!” The neighbour smiled gently at her; he knew the reason for her forgetfulness: she suffered from early-onset Alzheimers. Sometimes, if he hadn’t seen Mary for a few days, he would come round and knock on the door to see if she had got into trouble. “Really? Whose birthday is it today?”
         “It’s a friend of mine, Annabel, do you know her? Anyway, she’s 40 today, and I am preparing a meal for both of us, and also a few other friends are coming. I’m so excited, but I hope the food will be alright…”
         Having said this in one long stream, she bustled back into the house, closing the door firmly. The kind neighbour, seeing that Mary had forgotten to finish tidying the garden, walked round the dividing hedge and took up the secateurs, quietly finishing what had been started.
         Later in the day, the air was just beginning to cool, when a car drew up outside the house. The door opened, and out stepped a lady slightly younger than Mary, who walked to Mary’s front door. The lady, another Alzheimer-sufferer, looked at it for about a minute. Then, turning around, she proceeded to walk back to the car. The driver of the car got out and walked hastily to the other side, catching the lady as she was about to get back in. He took her arm, and led her up the path, knocking on the door while talking cheerfully to her. The door opened, and Mary greeted her with a cry of “Annabel! I am so glad to see you! Oh, and Happy Birthday! Do come in, the meal is almost ready.”
         Annabel smiled happily, and followed her friend into the house. The doorbell rang, and Mary quickly went to answer it. There were several people there, and she greeted them all warmly, welcoming them in. They followed, enticed by the wonderful smells coming from the kitchen, and eagerly anticipating the meal to come. Soon, there were about 7 people sitting around the table, although none of the places had any cutlery. Mary came through to the dining room from the kitchen, and sat down with the rest of them. She smiled at them, and then noticed that they were all watching her. One of the guests cleared her throat, and said “Do you want me to get the food from the kitchen, Mary?”
         Mary leapt up, apologising profusely, although the other guests insisted that it didn’t matter. Annabel followed Mary into the kitchen, and proceeded to pick some cutlery out of the drawer. She noticed that a cake was sitting on the counter, and asked whom it was for.
         Mary whispered in her ear, “Shh! It’s supposed to be a surprise!” Annabel grinned, and headed back to the dining room.
         Soon enough, Mary had brought through enough food to feed an army, and the guests were tucking in to the delicious feast. After the first silence that involved eating enough to take the edge off their hunger, jolly conversations ensued, and much laughing took place over certain in-jokes that the friends all knew well. At the end of the course, Mary announced a break in the eating while she prepared the dessert. Some of the guests stood up, wandering around while admiring the beautiful paintings on the wall. One of the guests was looking a calendar that had a different picture of flowers for each. They looked closer at one of the months, then turned round and motioned a friend to come and have a look. They pored over the calendar, flicking back and forth between two different pages. The driver who had come with Annabel now came over, and soon the rest of the guests knew.
         At this point though, Mary entered the room, with a beautifully ornamented cake, with many candles on the top. They all sang Happy Birthday to Annabel, the guests glancing knowingly at each other. At the end of the singing, a younger gentleman cleared his throat.
         “Uhh.. Mary, we were looking at your calendar, and it turns out, it isn’t actually Annabel’s birthday today! In fact, she’s only 36!”
         At this, Mary’s face crumpled, and she sat down on her chair in despair. “I’m sorry everybody, I’m so sorry! What am I to do?”
          The nearest guest reached out to comfort her, while the rest laughed gently. The previous speaker now addressed her again: “Mary! Please don’t be upset, you see, there is an upside to this… it is actually your birthday! You’re the one who is turning 40!”
         Annabel’s face lit up, as she launched joyfully into another rendition of the Happy Birthday song. The friends all joined in, even more heartily this time. Mary, slightly tearful but smiling nonetheless, joined in too, and at the end everybody cheered. Annabel looked up, looking slightly worried.
         “Is there a problem, Annabel?” Mary asked.
         “Well… I was wondering… do I still get to eat the cake?” Annabel’s face lit up with delight as everyone chorused, “Of course!”

Word Count: 993