Summary
Dean's First Birthday
Highlights
Decorating for the Party
Mary goes overboard for Dean's first birthday, filling the room with streamers and balloons. The kitchen table is so crowded with gifts that the birthday cake must be relocated to a separate tray table.
John's Protective Watch
John observes Dean pulling himself up to reach a flickering candle, ready to intervene at any moment. He notes that Dean is nearly walking, needing only to gain the confidence to let go and start moving on his own.
The Candle Ritual
When it is time to blow out the candle, John insists on helping Dean, keeping his hands firmly wrapped around the toddler's to ensure everything goes safely.
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Original text
Dean's first birthday and Mary goes overboard decorating. Streamers and balloons fill the corners and the old kitchen table she's pulled into service, its crooked leg propped up with last month's issues of Field and Stream and Car and Driver, is so crammed with packages that, in the end, the cake has to go on one of the tray tables instead.
John watches Dean pull himself up on the edge of the couch, tiny face screwed tight in concentration, the hazel green eyes fixed on the single flickering candle just out of reach, and gets ready to lift him out of harm's way at the first sign of trouble. Dean's been close to walking for weeks now and the way John figures it won't take much motivation to tip him over into ambulatory, all Dean has to do is figure out how to let go and he'll be off and running.
When it comes time to blow the candle out, John makes a big show of helping, keeping his hands wrapped tight around Dean's small ones until the last wisps of smoke are gone, better safe than sorry.