Eager Beaver

Chapter Six - Alex's Party

I couldn’t believe it; today of all days was Alex’s birthday! What were the odds? I suppose one in three hundred and sixty five, but they seemed astronomical. It was a fact, though. Alex and I had the same birthday. Even Mom and Dad were concerned when they got the news. They thought I would freak out! I was going to protest, but the only thing I managed to say when they were on the phone was “Don’t tell them about mine.” Now here I was on my eleventh birthday walking over to someone else’s party with my Mom and Dad.

“Hey buddy.” Dad smiled, patting my reassuringly atop my hat. “You holding up okay?”

“Yeah…” I peeped

“I know you don’t want to steal Alex’s spotlight, so don’t worry. We won’t tell anyone.” Dad repeated the promise I had made them both make. I had been quite insistent. There was no way I was going to let them near the party if they were going to blab.

“How long has it been since you had a birthday party on your birthday?” Mom asked, trying to get me to remember.

I frowned. It wasn’t like I hated my birthday or anything, and I wasn’t keeping it a secret for Alex’s sake either - though that’d been what I told my parents. In reality, she would probably be delighted to learn we shared a birthday.  I knew that any focus on my birthday would just invite questions from the kindies about my real age, however. It had been weeks and I had so far managed to avoid ever answering that question directly.  Sometimes I wondered just exactly how old everyone thought I was. I was just as tall as he was, but at times Charlie would treat me as if I was simply an unusually large five year old. It wasn’t such a crazy conclusion to draw.  I was still lumbered with a brown tail, after all

I shrugged to my Mom. “I don’t know.  Like second or third grade?” I said, probably too quickly. Honestly though, my last birthday party was a disaster etched into my mind. Despite our regular moves always leaving me feeling like the perpetual new kid, I had invited everyone from my class for my birthday parties - like always! Everyone thinks summer birthdays are going to be awesome with pool parties and playing in the sun, but that year it seemed like everyone had forgotten about mine. Perhaps it had been because I had given out the invitations on the last day of school. That’s what mom had said, trying to console me. Still, I remember sitting in the backyard making sure all the decorations were set up and waiting for my second grade class to arrive. After an hour, Mom and Dad stopped calling people and we packed everything up. That was when I decided - no more birthday parties. “Why bring that up?” I asked Mom, a little hurt.

“It’s just nice that you get to go to one.” Mom said fondly. “You had nothing else planned today anyway.”

I scoffed at my Mom’s comment. I would have planned something if it wasn’t for Alex’s party. Last year was my tenth birthday, double digits! Not having a party is way better! It means the day is about me, and not entertaining my bored classmates. The day was perfect. We started with a special birthday breakfast at a restaurant; it was like eating dessert first thing in the morning. Then we went to the mall. It was a bit silly, but not having a party meant I got to do whatever I wanted. One thing I always wanted was my own Build-A-Bear. Can you imagine a store that only sells teddy bears? I was fascinated by it. We must have spent hours in there until I finally picked out the perfect teddy. I even picked out a boy scout outfit for him. I felt a little embarrassed to be seen carrying my new toy all throughout the science museum with me, but I had been working on a badge at the time and needed to visit one. It was a perfect birthday - just me, Mom, Dad and my new bear. Plus, I got a badge out of it. I still have that teddy bear of course. I finally found him in a moving box. He sits on my dresser now.

Finally, we turned off onto the driveway of a large house on the corner of the road; a fancy columned portico framing a huge cherry red front door. If I was honest, I was a little surprised. Alex was always so scruffy, turning up to every Beaver meeting in her same ratty old moth eaten vest, but this house was huge - a mansion almost! I stuffed my hands awkwardly into my own beaver uniform, feeling a little self-conscious to be wearing it walking around town. It was hardly a surprise that Alex had instituted a dress code for the birthday party. She was practically obsessed with all things Beaver! If we were at a meeting, I was always Rascal - and she was always Ringtail. It had gotten to the point where she didn’t answer to anything else.