Birthday party:

A bit after the end of second term just so happened to be Mackay's birthday. The party at Janet's was in full swing.

Charlie was browsing through the photo albums that had been dusted off again and were on display.

"Yes! Here's the one of Carmen having a bath in the laundry tub!"

Lots of giggles from Turquoise, Jenny and Rose.

"Dad!" shouted Carmen, but she was too late.

However, she did manage to grab Mackay’s collar and shove him away.

"You are not seeing it!"

"Ok, Ok" Mackay straightened his shirt, "Hoy, Handel, in that case let's get some more pizza!"

Daisy, now noticeably pregnant, Harmony, and Hyacinth, were having a gentile fight over who would hold Kiara's baby next.

"No, the five minutes are up, it's my turn!" said Daisy, "And, anyway, I have precedence!"

Initially Hyacinth had been resistant to the whole idea of gushing over a mere baby, but as the night had worn on she discovered she just couldn't resist. She gave the baby another little hug and he squirmed around.

"Ah, sorry, but I think he's getting a bit tired." said Kiara, as she held out her hands to receive back her child, “Probably time to put him to bed.”

Tanner and his girlfriend and Cliff (Kiara’s boyfriend) were deep into a discussion about jobs and careers.

Merton was admiring the sideboard, made by Jiro.

“Yep, it’s solid oak, I got the wood second hand at a bargain price. Although it took three days of back breaking work to extract it all from a house due to be demolished.” said Jiro.

Catalina and Mary were in the kitchen.

“Ok, Melissa, you take the cake.” said Catalina.

“Wow!” said Melissa, “Did you make this cake all by yourself, Catalina?”

“Ha, I made it all the way to the shops and back!”

Janet stood at the entrance between the kitchen and the lounge room, and spoke in her best commanding voice.

“Everyone, it’s time for the birthday cake, make way for the cake bearer.”

There was silence. Mackay stood next to the cakes, with everyone else making a rough circle around him and the table. There were eighteen candles on the cakes.

“Now, Mackay, I really would like to express my appreciation for everything, but mainly for keeping my daughter alive.” said Janet.

She stepped forward and lightly kissed him on the forehead. There were cheers from the throng. Catalina also kissed him on the forehead.

“And now, we sing happy birthday, and Mackay will blow out the candles.” said Catalina.

He had to take two goes, much to the amusement of everyone.

“So, Mackay, did you make a wish?” said Janet.

“No way!” said Mackay.

“A wise decision. After all-”

“You might get it.”

Eight decades later:

Three old ladies and an old man lay, in their usual order, on two beds set up next to each other. The beds had a tilting section, which were currently raised. So they were all propped up, they felt more comfortable that way.

“So, that’s, what, the third or the fourth great grandchild?” said Mackay.

The visitors had just left.

“Four. Carmen’s got two, Jenny has one and the new one of mine makes it four.” said Turquoise, “Course, all of them are Mackay’s.”

“Right.”

Turquoise picked up a photo frame that had been left by the visitors. She swiped it and random pictures scrolled across its screen, and also the big TV screen on the wall.

A picture of Daisy’s first baby, holding his first baby.

A wedding photo of Jenny and Mackay. And another one of Turquoise and Carmen.

A picture of Hyacinth as a middle aged lady, hand in hand with a young school boy.

A picture of Handel and Harmony, both in their fifties, walking down a nature trail. They were walking a metre apart, while the third man in the picture was walking on the other side with his arm around Harmony. They were all laughing at some shared joke.

A picture of Melissa and her husband.

She turned off the photo slideshow and put down the photo frame. The room was silent for a while.

“To think that we outlived all of our peers, in spite of our rough start!” said Turquoise.

“Well, Melissa and Rose did their best, we only managed to survive them by half a year.” said Jenny.

“Yeah. And amazing, wasn’t it, to see how things unfolded after all of that.” said Carmen.

Mackay moved awkwardly around before settling down again.

“How’s the pain?” said Jenny.

“Oh, none whatsoever. That new stuff they have really works. I’m just a bit stiff, that’s all.” said Mackay.

“So, what does the monitor say?” said Turquoise.

Carmen picked up the medical monitor, which was continually measuring Mackay’s health. It was the size of a credit card, and along with some other indications, it had a big red number giving a percentage value.

“Hmm, it says overall health is now twelve percent and going down.”

A long silence.

Carmen tossed the monitor away. It landed on the floor, and after a suitable interval, a small cleaning bot rolled out from under the bed, picked it up, and put it on the side table. The four totally ignored this.

“I think it’s time to make that wish.” said Jenny.

“Yeah, I certainly don’t want to hang on for a painful two days while my body collapses around me.” said Carmen.

“What about you, Turquoise?” said Mackay.

“Include me in it. I mean, having spent eight decades living with you lot, how long do you think I will last when you’re gone?”

“Ok, Ok.” said Mackay. He took a breath.

“Esmeralda, all of us wish that, when I die, the others die at the same time.”

“There, is that sufficient?”

Three yeses from the girls.

Jenny pressed a switch on the bed control, and the head section lowered itself. Carmen did the same for her bed. Three weary old ladies and one weary old man settled in for a sleep.

Unseen, the percentage value on that medical monitor went down.

Eleven percent.

Ten percent.

Nine percent...

They got their wish.