Chap­ter 44 unfolds on Harry’s forty-fifth birth­day, a day that marks a qui­eter, more reflec­tive cel­e­bra­tion than one might expect. Instead of a lav­ish par­ty or an extrav­a­gant night out, Har­ry sim­ply wants to spend the day with those clos­est to him, seek­ing the com­fort of fam­i­ly with­out the trap­pings of for­mal­i­ty. His request is straight­for­ward, reflect­ing his desire for peace and sim­plic­i­ty, some­thing many of us crave as we grow old­er. In response, Eve­lyn, Celia, and John devise a plan to cel­e­brate in a way that would hon­or Harry’s wish. The idea of a pic­nic in the park seems like the per­fect solution—a casu­al yet thought­ful gath­er­ing where the fam­i­ly can con­nect and enjoy each other’s com­pa­ny.

John, always think­ing ahead, heads to the sport­ing-goods store to pur­chase a large umbrel­la, not only to pro­vide shade from the sun but also to keep them out of the pub­lic eye. The idea of keep­ing their cel­e­bra­tion inti­mate, away from pry­ing eyes, shows how much they val­ue their pri­va­cy. Celia gets to work on mak­ing san­gria, a refresh­ing drink that will add a spe­cial touch to their after­noon. Mean­while, Luisa han­dles the food, ensur­ing that there will be enough to eat for every­one, fill­ing the pic­nic bas­kets with home­made dish­es that reflect her love for the fam­i­ly. The sense of care and atten­tion to detail is evi­dent in every aspect of the day, ensur­ing that Harry’s birth­day will be mem­o­rable in the sim­plest, most mean­ing­ful way.

As the fam­i­ly pre­pares, they sur­prise Har­ry with the plan, tak­ing him to the park with Con­nor hap­pi­ly rid­ing on his back. She gig­gles as he bounces her up and down, and the joy of the moment is pal­pa­ble. The sound of Connor’s laugh­ter fills the air, pro­vid­ing a back­drop of inno­cence and hap­pi­ness that is both uplift­ing and heart­warm­ing. Har­ry, intrigued by what’s unfold­ing, asks for a hint, but John, know­ing Harry’s per­cep­tive­ness, refus­es to give any­thing away. Their play­ful ban­ter con­tin­ues, with Con­nor laugh­ing again as Har­ry calls her name, a sound that light­ens the atmos­phere even fur­ther. When they final­ly reach the park, Harry’s eyes fall upon the pic­nic set­up: the umbrel­la, the blan­kets, and the bas­kets all laid out under the open sky. His smile says it all—it’s exact­ly what he want­ed. A sim­ple fam­i­ly pic­nic, just the five of them, and it’s per­fect.

This pic­nic is not just a cel­e­bra­tion of Harry’s birth­day but also a cel­e­bra­tion of their family’s close­ness and their abil­i­ty to find joy in every­day moments. The ease of the day, with no expec­ta­tions or pres­sures, allows them to relax and sim­ply be with one anoth­er. Harry’s con­tent­ment is evi­dent as he clos­es his eyes for a moment, tak­ing in the peace that sur­rounds him. There’s some­thing pro­found­ly beau­ti­ful in the sim­plic­i­ty of it all: no extrav­a­gant gifts or grand speech­es, just the plea­sure of being togeth­er in a qui­et, heart­felt way. Eve­lyn, Celia, and John have all con­tributed to mak­ing the day spe­cial, demon­strat­ing their deep care for Har­ry and their under­stand­ing of what tru­ly mat­ters to him.

As they share the pic­nic, it’s clear that this moment is more than just a meal in the park. It sym­bol­izes the strength of their bond, the love they have for one anoth­er, and their abil­i­ty to embrace the lit­tle things in life. It’s in these moments—where there are no dis­trac­tions, no expectations—that we often find the truest sense of hap­pi­ness. The day, with its sim­plic­i­ty and warmth, will remain in Harry’s mem­o­ry as one of the most per­fect birth­day cel­e­bra­tions he could have asked for. The time spent togeth­er, with­out the need for any­thing extrav­a­gant, becomes a cher­ished mem­o­ry for the entire fam­i­ly. It’s a reminder that some­times, the best moments are the qui­et, unas­sum­ing ones that allow us to tru­ly appre­ci­ate the peo­ple we hold dear.