Uncle Phil helped Carson get down from the examination table, and we walked out to the parking lot. Carson waited for Mr. Hagen to get his car, and Dad and I waited for Uncle Phil to get his SUV.

“Hey, Carson, I want to say happy birthday to you again!” I grinned at him.

He returned my grin. “Happy birthday to you too, David. Um… do you think we might get together sometime?”

“Absolutely. Since we’re good friends now we should do just that and do it real soon. Uncle Phil has the phone number for Hathaway House, so I’ll get it from him and give you a call tomorrow morning. Maybe you can come over and we can play some video games. I have a PS3.”

“Cool. I’ll check with Mr. Hagen, but I think that it’ll be okay.”

“And you know, if your arm is hurting we can do it Friday or this weekend. I’m having my birthday party on Saturday, and you’re invited. A lot of my friends are coming, and we always go somewhere to ride roller coasters. I’ll pick somewhere that has stuff you can do with a broken arm.”

“Thanks. I’m sure I can come on Saturday, and probably tomorrow morning. Uncle Phil gave me a pain pill, and Mr. Hagen will get the prescription filled at the drugstore. Uncle Phil said they ought to do the job and keep my arm from hurting much. And if it’s okay with you, I’d rather come over even if I am hurting a little.”

“Hey, that’s okay with me. Even if all you want to do is hang and even take a nap. Tomorrow then, friend.”

“Works for me. See you tomorrow, friend.”

Mr. Hagen drove up just then, and I helped Carson get into the car. He waved, and they drove off. While we waited for Uncle Phil, Dad looked at me and smiled.

“Looks like you and Carson have become friends in what, about an hour and a half?”

“Yeah. We just really clicked. He’s really easy to get along with. For me it seems like we’ve known each other for a long time.” I grinned. “Pretty clever of me to tell him that I’m having my birthday party on Saturday and to ask if he can come over tomorrow morning, right?”

“Right, But remember, that’s if Mr. Hagen agrees, and if Carson is feeling well enough.”

“Okay, I understand.”

“When we get home I’m going to talk to your mother about Carson coming over tomorrow and joining us for Thanksgiving dinner, then I’ll phone Mr. Hagen. After everyone leaves tonight I’ll talk to her about becoming foster parents for Carson. If she agrees I’ll gather you and your brother and sisters and we’ll have a family discussion about it. Until then, please keep everything to yourself.”

“I will. What do you think Mom will say about Carson coming to my party on Saturday?”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine with your mother. What’s one more hyperactive teenager when she’s already expecting twenty?” Dad grinned and I laughed.

“We’re not hyperactive. Well, maybe some of us are.”

We got home and Uncle Phil picked up Aunt Mary and Rebecca and headed home. Alan, Lynn, Barb and I started cleaning up the family room and living room. They grilled me about Carson and I told them that his arm had been broken when we ran into each other and now it was in a sling.

Mom and Dad were in his office all the time since we got back, and I was eager to find out what they decided. Dad came into the living room when we were almost finished cleaning up.

“Kids, as soon as you’re through here come to the dining room. Your mother and I want to talk to you about something.”

It probably took us five minutes to finish. I wasn’t wondering what was going on because I already knew, but Alan, Lynn, and Barb came up with all kinds of weird ideas. It was hard for me to keep from laughing at them. When we were done we sat around the table.

Mom and Dad walked in and joined us.

Mom started. “You all met Carson and heard about how he, uh, met David.” Everyone laughed. Mom continued, “I think you all know that today is David’s birthday…” She was interrupted by a round of ‘Happy birthday David’ from my sibs, “…and that it’s also Carson’s birthday. They are both fifteen today. We will celebrate David’s birthday tomorrow. You probably don’t know that Carson is in foster care. Your dad and I have decided to invite Carson to come over tomorrow for Thanksgiving dinner and for a surprise joint birthday party with David so we can get to know him a little better, and he can get to know us a little better. Is that okay with everyone?”

Alan, Lynn, and Barb, and me too, said various variants on ‘yes’ and ‘okay’ and ‘cool’ agreeing that the joint birthday party was a great idea. Then they started asking questions, without waiting for others to stop talking. That’s typical of our family. Mom and Dad just sat there looking at us and shaking their heads.

Then Dad took his turn. “Alright, alright! I gather that you all agree. We can answer your questions in a minute. First, I want to set one rule for tomorrow. No one, let me repeat, no one, is to tell or hint to Carson, or to anyone else who’s here tomorrow, that we’re celebrating Carson’s birthday tomorrow night. It’s to be a big surprise for him. Do you all agree?”

Of course, everyone agreed.

“Second, Carson needs to be placed with a foster family. He seems like a nice kid, and he and David have already become friends despite how they met earlier tonight. Your mother and I have been thinking that we would like to be his foster parents so the two-boy two-girl balance will be maintained because Alan is moving to San Diego to go to college. That also means that his room would be available for Carson. Since he’s coming over tomorrow I think we can use it as an opportunity to get to know him a little better, and decide, as a family, if we want to foster him.”

There was a loud shout of approval from all of us kids. That made me really happy. Besides liking Carson a lot, with Alan leaving I’d be the only boy at home and I’d be outnumbered by Lynn and Barb. That would definitely not be a good thing.

Dad knocked on the table to get everyone’s attention. “I told you to keep Carson’s birthday party a surprise. It’s even more important that you keep this idea about becoming his foster family a secret. We’re telling you that we’re thinking about this so you can get to know him well enough to participate in the decision whether fostering him will work for us or not. Carson has to agree as well, and we have to be approved by CPS. So, please, absolutely do not tell anyone, especially Carson, about this. Agreed?”

We all answered ‘yes’ knowing that this wasn’t just a fun thing like the birthday party, it was something that would be important for Carson and for us as a family.

“Okay, now we can get to your questions. One at a time, please.”

Alan spoke first. “This isn’t a question, it’s a comment. Since I’m moving to San Diego, I agree that Carson can have my bedroom for as long as he lives here. I’ll be at San Diego State for six years and I sure don’t need that big room just sitting here not being used. When I come home to visit I can use the guest bedroom. It’d be great for Carson, with the bathroom and David in the next room.” He looked at Mom. “What do you think?”

“Thanks for agreeing to let Carson have your room, Alan. If we end up fostering Carson we’ll need a separate bedroom for him.”

Dad took control once again. “Now, any other questions?”

Lynn, being the ever-practical person, asked the best question, something I hadn’t even thought about but should have. “What about birthday presents for Carson? Stores will be closed tomorrow, won’t they?”

Mom had an answer for that. “BuyMart is open tonight until midnight. They’re having their Pre-Thanksgiving sale, so I’ll take David and any of you who want to come along, and we’ll get Carson some birthday presents.”

Okay, so I’m going to have to stay up late to go shopping. That’s okay because I’ll be buying presents for Carson. Otherwise I wouldn’t be very happy. I’m not a shopping kind of person, unlike Lynn and Alan who were eager to come along. Barb said she’d rather stay home to watch some program on TV.

When we got to BuyMart I realized that I didn’t have any idea what we should buy Carson. Mom said I should buy things that I’d like. After all, we were both fifteen and seemed to like the same things. But I didn’t know what Carson already had. Like clothes are easy to buy, but does he need clothes? I could get him a game, but does he have a PS3, or an X-Box, or maybe a PC? Then I remembered that he wanted an iPod, and was going to save up until he could afford one.

“Mom, I should have thought about this before we left home, but how about we give Carson money for his birthday? Then he can put it with the $100 he got from his former foster mom to get what he wants, an iPod Touch.”

Mom nodded and thought for a few seconds.

“Why don’t I get him some BuyMart gift cards instead of cash? Say, $50 each from you, Alan, Barb, and Lynn, and $100 from me and Dad? That’s $300, enough with his $100 for the iPod and all the music he wants.”

“Then why don’t we just buy him the iPod, and a gift card for whatever is left that he can use with his $100 to get music? The iPod can be from us kids, and the gift card from you and Dad.”

“David, that’s a much better idea. Let’s go buy the iPod and a gift card.”

I could tell that Mom was enthusiastic. She loves to shop, so this was a perfect solution for her. And for Carson, too.

There are three models of the iPod, 8, 32, and 64 gigabytes. The 64 gig model was almost $400, way too expensive. The 8 gig model was skinny on storage, and I knew that it wouldn’t have enough memory to store my music. The 32 gig model and a charger we had to buy separately came to over $300 by the time tax was added. But Mom had a 20% off coupon good on any one item in the store, so the 32 gig model ended up costing just under $250. That included a case and a screen protector the store was including at no charge. Mom got a $50 iTunes gift card that would be from her and dad. Carson could use that with his $100 to download music.

We got home just after nine. BuyMart doesn’t do gift wrapping, so we did it ourselves. With the four of us ‘helping’ I’m sure it took a lot more time than if Mom had done it by herself. The hardest part was peeling the price sticker off the box. It came off, or most of it did, but it looked sort of messy. It was a good thing it was on the bottom of the box. I put a piece of white adhesive tape over where it had been, and that hid the mess. We put the iTunes gift card in with his birthday card that we all signed, and Mom put it and the box in her bedroom.

The next morning Dad phoned Mr. Hagen. They agreed that Carson could come for Thanksgiving and sleep over, and I was real excited. I phoned Carson to find out what time he’d be coming over.

“Hi, David.”

“Hey, Carson. How you doing?”

“Eh, I didn’t sleep very well ‘cause my arm’s sore, but it’s not too bad this morning. I’m looking forward to coming over. Joe, he works here, will drive me over in about a half hour. It’s not that far; I’d walk but Mr. Hagen doesn’t want me doing that until my arm heals. Anyway, is getting there around nine okay?”

“Sure. We haven’t eaten breakfast yet. Have you?”

“No, that’s why I’m going to leave in a half hour. I’m going to have a bowl of cereal and some toast.”

“How about you have breakfast with us? We’re gonna have a big breakfast, pancakes and bacon. Mom’s a great cook. Can you come over now?”

“I think so, lemme ask Joe.” There was a brief pause then Carson got back on the phone. “He’ll take me now. See you in a few minutes. Oh, Mr. Hagen wants to talk to your dad again.”

I handed the phone to Dad. “I’m gonna wait for Carson on the front porch.”

I hadn’t been on the front porch for more than ten minutes when a van pulled up, and Carson got out. He was carrying a backpack and smiled when he saw me.

“Hey, David!”

“Hey yourself, Carson. Come on in. It’s cold out here.”

He turned and waved to the guy driving the van, and followed me into the house.

“Mom, Dad, Carson’s here.”

Mom hugged Carson, carefully avoiding his left arm. “How are you feeling, Carson?”

“Not bad. I had a hard time getting to sleep last night because of my arm. But it’s not as sore this morning.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I’m going to get breakfast started. We’re going to have pancakes and bacon and eggs. Is that okay? Is there anything you don’t like?”

“Mmm! That sounds outstanding. I eat anything and everything. Pancakes will be great.”

Dad put his hand on Carson’s right shoulder. “You’re sure that you're up to a sleepover tonight?”

“I figure my arm might be sore sleeping in David’s bed, but it’d be sore sleeping in my own bed at Hathaway House anyway.”

“Anything you need, just let us know. If you want to take a nap, you can do that in David’s room. Don’t let him exhaust you.”

At breakfast Carson told us about the birthday party they had for him at Hathaway House.

“The best part,” he enthused, “was this big cake decorated with a drawing of an iPod Touch in colored frosting.” I almost choked, expecting him to say they’d bought him an iPod. “They told me that was the best they could do about an iPod for me, but I got fifty dollars, so now I have a hundred fifty. I’m about halfway to getting my iPod.” He had a huge smile, and I could tell he was really happy. Oh, man, was tonight’s surprise birthday party for him gonna be great. He’ll totally flip when he gets our present.

After breakfast I took Carson upstairs to my room.

“Wow. What a great room. It’s so big! Is that a king-size bed?”

“Yeah. It takes five minutes to get from one side of it to the other.”

It was a lame joke, but he laughed anyway. “With my arm it would take me a half hour.” Now, that was funny.

“You know Carson, I still feel guilty that your arm got broken.”

“Forget it. Remember, you said it was a no-fault accident. Besides, if I hadn’t broken it I wouldn’t have gotten all the guys and the staff at Hathaway to autograph it.” He carefully pulled the sling off his arm. The white plastic around his forearm had a bunch of names written on it in different marking pen colors.

“That’s cool. Can I sign it too?”

“Sure.”

I got out a permanent marker, a purple one, and wrote my name on the cast.

He carefully put his arm back into the sling.

“Carson, you look tired. Would you like to take a nap?”

“Yeah, I’m beginning to fade. Can I crash on your bed?”

“Of course. You should probably use the right side ‘cause it’ll be easier for you to get in and out. Want me to untie your shoes?”

“Thanks, that’s fantastic. I had a hard time trying to tie my shoes with one hand. Terrance came to my rescue this morning and tied them for me.”

Carson sat on the edge of the bed and I squatted and untied his shoes and took them off.

“If it’s okay I’m going to lie down for a while too. Mom hauled us out of bed at six this morning to help her get ready for tonight’s dinner, so I didn’t get enough sleep.”

“You had to get up at six in the morning? What did you have to do, pluck the turkey?”

I giggled. “No, the turkeys, plural as in two of ‘em, came pre-plucked. When our whole family gets together there’s a lot to do. Mom makes us wash all the dishes and knives and forks we normally don’t use, and by hand ‘cause it’d take three loads in the dishwasher and that’s about three hours. Lynn got stuck with peeling potatoes, and I got stuck with peeling carrots then slicing both them and the celery. At least I didn’t have to peel and chop the onions. That was Alan’s job. Geez, talking about all that work is making me even more tired. I think it’s time for both of us to rest. Stand up and I’ll pull off the bedspread. Mom always wants us to stay off the bedspreads.”

Carson stood and I pulled the bedspread down to the foot of the bed, bowed, and swept my arm out. “Your bed awaits, sire!”

“Thank you, serf. You may withdraw now.”

“I think I’ll withdraw to the other side of the bed. I’ll set my sleep alarm for an hour. Is that okay?”

“Yeah. I think an hour will be enough.”

It seemed like I’d just fallen asleep when my clock radio clicked on with a Green Day song playing. I looked over at Carson and he was still asleep. I hit the sleep alarm button so we’d get another hour. That lasted for about fifteen minutes because Mom came in and woke us.

“Time to get up, sleepyheads. People are starting to arrive. Get ready and come on downstairs.”

I sort of mumbled “Uh huh,” or something like that.

“Now, David! Or I’ll send Brian to get you up.”

That woke me. “Okay, okay.” I got up and followed her to the door, and after she walked out I closed and locked it. I didn’t want Brian coming in and slowing us down with his silly jokes and pranks.

I turned and looked at Carson. His eyes were open and he’d pulled himself up to a sitting position on the side of the bed.

“What time is it?”

“Almost noon. You okay?”

“Yeah, I suppose. I guess I could use another five or six hours of sleep, but then I’d miss eating Thanksgiving dinner. Especially your wonderful carrots and celery.” We smiled at each other.

“You want to clean up?”

“Yeah, but mainly I have to pee. Where’s the bathroom?”

“Alan and I share a bathroom. It’s that door right there.”

“Thanks.” Carson got up and walked to the bathroom without stumbling too much and shut the door. After a few seconds I heard him shout.

“Oh, my god!”