Freddy’s 8th birthday was coming up and it couldn’t come soon enough. For one thing, since Matty’s birthday wasn’t for another four months, Freddy would be two years older than him for awhile. He enjoyed having this extra boost in age difference. If anyone asked him, he’d be able to say, “I’m 8 years old and my little brother is 6.” Even though he thought this was a very important advantage, Matty didn’t seem to care one way or another, which took a little bit of the fun out of it.
Also, Freddy was really hoping that he’d be getting a guinea pig for his birthday. His friend Davy had one and it was the best pet ever. Other than that, he thought he’d probably get some toys (good), clothes (boring) and maybe a book (probably good). He also thought it would be neat to get a real sword, a sharp one that said “Shing!” every time it got taken out of its sheath. You never knew when you might need to fight an important battle or save the family from danger. However, he’d already asked Dad about that and Dad said he was too young for a real sword. “I don’t even have one yet and I’m 33!“ Dad had said, grinning. Freddy resigned himself to a swordless birthday. Only two more days!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Happy Birthday!” Freddy was awakened by Matty shouting and hitting him with his pillow. Freddy rose to the challenge with his own pillow and they went at it for awhile, chasing each other and then jumping on the bed. This was a perfect start to the day, as far as Freddy was concerned. Mom poked her head in the room and proclaimed a cease-fire. Freddy and Matty stuck their tongues out at each other and went racing downstairs to get breakfast.
Freddy thought suppertime would never come. Gifts and cake would have to wait until after supper when Dad was home. Freddy had requested cheeseburgers and fries for supper. When Mom asked him what kind of vegetable he wanted, he said ketchup, because it was made with tomatoes. Mom laughed and gave him a big hug and a kiss for that, which he took as a good sign.
Finally! Dad was home and they all sat down to supper. Dad held up his glass of wine and toasted to the occasion by saying, “Frederick James, today thou art eight years old!” Dad couldn’t resist launching into King James English for these types of speeches. “We thank God for thee and ask Him to bless thee with strong faith and godly purpose. Keep His commandments always, for length of days and long life and peace shall they add to thee.”
“Hear, hear!” Mom added, and they all clinked their glasses before drinking. Even Freddy and Matty got little celebratory glasses of wine (Philomena was too young still). As traditions go, Freddy really liked this one. Mom brought out the cheeseburgers and french fries. She winked at Freddy and said, “Our vegetable tonight is bottled tomatoes!” Good old Mom.
After supper, places were cleared and as per family tradition, Freddy was blindfolded as everyone made lots of noise bringing their gifts to the table. Dad always liked to make it sound like he was hoisting a huge heavy box, grunting and panting with exertion. Freddy could hear Matty doing the same thing in imitation. Philomena seemed to be chirping some sort of toddler nonsense. Mom was humming the Happy Birthday song.
When the blindfold was removed, Freddy saw a nice little pile of wrapped gifts and the Great Unwrapping began. There was one from Mom and Dad to “Freddy the Finder,” so he opened that one first. A magnifying glass! Perfect! Matty gave him a Matchbox fire engine, a nice addition to his collection. Philomena gave him a little box of marbles. He suspected she had help with that. He saw another gift that he was pretty sure was a book, also from Mom and Dad. And it was – actually 3 books, all the Lord of the Rings books! Dad had been reading that to him and Matty, so he was pretty excited to get his own copies. The last gift was just an envelope – probably a card with some mushy stuff in it from his parents. He squelched a little disappointment in not getting the guinea pig, but it had been a long shot. Mom always said she did NOT want any pets in their house, but he had thought maybe a guinea pig was so small that it didn’t count as a pet. He opened the envelope and instead of a card, he found a piece of paper with a short poem on it:
“To find your last birthday gift
You’ll have to stop and think
Go to the place where adventures start
Where snakes slither and slink.
A clue! Freddy grabbed his new magnifying glass just in case. Where adventures start…could it be a book? A book about snakes? He ran to the bookshelf to investigate, but he didn’t see a book about snakes on the nature shelf. The garden? It didn’t seem like a very adventurous place, but the garden of Eden had a snake in it. He ran outside and did some looking around with his magnifying glass. “You’re getting colder,” Dad said. Freddy sat down and thought about the clue again. Adventures…adventures… Whenever they went on a trip somewhere, Dad would always say, “Is everybody ready for a new adventure?” So maybe the van in the garage? But why snakes? Then he remembered that a couple months ago, Mom had discovered snakes in the garage (he hadn’t realized she could scream that loudly) and he knew he was on the right track. To the garage!
He bolted into the garage and stopped short, stunned. On the floor by the van was a kennel and in the kennel was a puppy. A puppy? A puppy! He looked back at Dad and Mom, especially at Mom, who’d sworn off pets of any kind. She smiled and nodded and Dad said, “He’s yours – a golden retriever!”
Freddy ran over and opened the kennel. Matty was jumping up and down with excitement, and he could hear Philomena saying, “Doggie! Doggie!” As the puppy came out and began licking Freddy, Dad said, “Having a pet is a big responsibility, so Mom and I will have to have a long talk with you about what that means for you…” but Freddy was hardly listening. It was like a dream. He got up and hugged his parents and said “Thanks!” Dad asked, “What are you going to name him?” Freddy didn’t have to think twice about it.
“His name is Gandalf.”
I’m just going to put it out there that I’m am getting really fond of Freddy and his family. I haven’t given them a last name yet, which seems weird.
This has been Fiction Friday with Lynniebeemuseoday.
Happy birthday to you,
I’m deleting this too.
Happy birthday dear readers,
Happy birthday to you!
Lynniebeemuseoday 
Great story!
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