Eli chuckled at the candle Verity squashed into the uneaten portion of the cheesecake. She lit it, and he grinned wider. "Thirty," he answered. "And what sort of wish should it be? I have nearly everything I want," he mumbled. Then Eli, feeling much like a little boy, closed his eyes, thought of a wish involving happiness and not being alone forever, and blew out his candle.
He reached up and toyed with the hat on his head, smiling at Verity. "Nice hat," he said. "You always this prepared?"