Six Plus Two

Julia wanted to surprise her eight-year-old brother, Tom, when he came home from football practice. She had bought a chocolate cake, blue balloons and a packet containing a large candle shaped like the number eight. Her parents were preparing snacks while she set the table.

Everything seemed ready until Julia opened the candle packet. Inside were two small candles: a six and a two. She was confused until she realised that the shop assistant had picked up the wrong packet. Tom would be home in ten minutes, and there wasn’t enough time to go back to the shop.

Julia felt disappointed and a little embarrassed. It was a small mistake, but it was also annoying, because she had organised the whole afternoon. Her older brother, Ben, came into the kitchen and saw the candles on the table. “What’s wrong?” he asked. Julia showed him the numbers.

Ben thought for a moment. “Six plus two makes eight,” he said. “We could put them side by side and tell Tom it’s a maths puzzle.” Julia laughed, and for the first time that afternoon she felt relaxed. It was a better idea than leaving the cake without candles, so they placed both numbers in the centre.

When Tom arrived, everyone sang “Happy Birthday.” He looked at the candles, frowned for a second, confused, and then shouted, “That’s eight!” He seemed more interested in the puzzle than in the cake itself, and he looked so excited that nobody cared about the mistake. Later, Julia saved a photograph of the two candles. Whenever she saw it, she remembered how a small mistake had made the celebration more personal.