Birthday Baxters

   Beverly turned the full length mirror and struck a pose. She looked great in her pink dress, a yellow boa draped around her shoulders. She giggled.

   "It almost isn't fair to the other girls," she mused to herself, "I'm sure to get that part." Bev batted her eyes at her reflection, then grinned. Jeannie walked into the room, her focus settled into the stack of papers she was mulling over. Before she could speak to her sister, Jeannie tripped over the edge of Beverly's bed. Papers flew all over before cascading down like giant snowflakes. Jeannie didn't realize how quickly she was walking until she noticed that her feet were resting in the middle of Beverly's bed, while her top half was resting on the floor opposite of the side of the bed she'd bumped into. Beverly shook her head before reaching down to help Jeannie up onto the bed.

   "Honestly, Sis," Beverly sighed, "you really need to make up your mind when you're going to read and when you're going to walk. Just what was all that?"

   "Fan mail," Jeannie scooped up one of the sheets which had landed on the bedspread, "I thought you'd want to read these."

   "I read all my fan mail, Jean. I would've gotten to it."

   "These seemed special." Jeannie held the open letter out for Beverly to read. Beverly took a seat and studied the paper.

   "It's an invitation to a little boy's birthday party." Beverly noted. Jeannie crawled around the room to gather up the other letters.

   "I have a dozen of these," Jeannie explained, "all from classmates of a little boy named Davy. He's a big fan of yours and all his friends wrote to you to ask that you attend his party on Friday."

   "I'm touched, Jean, but I can't go anywhere but the studio on Friday. They're casting for that new picture and I'm in the running for the female lead. John Newland is directing. I can't miss this chance!"

   "Think what it would mean to this little boy, Bev."

   "I..." Beverly gulped for her words, "I can't miss out on this, Jean. That part is practically mine! I know! You can go to the party in my place!"

   "They want Beverly Baxter, not Jeannie Baxter."

   "Ohhhh!" Bev buried her face in her hands and flopped backward onto the bed. "It's not fair! I had this wrapped up!" Jeannie returned to her seat on the bed and neatly stacked the papers. Beverly could only imagine the movie, now starring Yvette Pond or Daisy Poise. Beverly saw her dressing room door, her star falling from it's perch and shattering into a hundred splinters as it hit the floor. Beverly saw her popularity dropping to the bottom of every entertainment poll in the country. She pictured herself ending up in Italy or someplace getting star billing but her movies never making it back to the States. Then she took a breath.

   "Okay, Jean," Beverly sounded defeated as she sat back up, "I know it would mean a lot to the kid. He must be pretty special if all his classmates campaigned for me to be there. If he's a fan, I owe it to him to show up." Jeannie let the stack of papers again fly as she threw open her arms and embraced her sister.

   "I knew you'd do the right thing!"

   "Oh, who wants to star in a feature anyway..."

   Friday. Beverly pulled the car to a stop at the light on main street. Jeannie noticed Beverly was lost in thought.

   "Bev?"

   "Our being at the party is a present of a sort, but I'd hate to not bring a gift. We still have time to pick something up. What does an eight year old boy want?"

   "A seven year old girl?"

   "Very funny." Beverly glanced over at the street across from the light. She had to smile at the coincidence that a seven year old girl was walking along the sidewalk. Then she noticed something and pointed. "That's it!"

    "You know I was kidding about the little girl, right?"

   "No, look! Look where she's going!"

   "The candy store?"

   "That's what an eight year old wants, a bag of candy as big as his head!"

   "Say, that's not a bad idea!"

   "How many kids are going to be at the party?"

   "We got a dozen letters, Davy makes thirteen. We should probably figure twice that."

   "Okay!" The light turned green and Beverly drove over to the candy store. Inside was an explosion of bright colors, as if someone had ground a rainbow into gravel and then glossed the bits before tossing them randomly into jars and bowels. The girls actually had to let their eyes adjust before they began a serious exploration of what the shop had to offer. It came in every size and shape you could imagine. Sugar had been shaped into bars, chunks, straws, disks, ropes, beads, rolls, rings, squares, barrels, balls, tubes, it was endless. There were even mounds of powder dyed various colors, evidently for those who preferred their sugar straight. It was overwhelming, so much grander than the simple candy counter the girls remembered from a few years ago.

   "I don't have the slightest idea what to get, Jeannie. I've never seen so much candy!"

   "I know," Jeannie rubbed her eyes, "it's like watching QUEEN OF OUTER SPACE being projected directly into your eyes. Well, maybe a grab bag is the ticket."

   "No. I'd hate for one of the kids to feel cheated because someone else got a better assortment than they did. Maybe a gift certificate is the way to go."

   "I doubt that would be as exciting as having a big bag of candy presented to you."

   "Yeah... We need some help here." Beverly made for the counter where the owner was finishing up with the little girl. She was walking out with a giant lollipop. Beverly glanced up at a row of all-day suckers which looked to be the size of manhole covers. Beverly then looked back to the owner as she leaned against the counter. He was a gentle-looking fella with white hair, but he didn't seem as old as his hair might suggest. He looked a bit like John Hoyt, actually.

   "Yes? What can I do for you, young lady?" Odder, he sounded exactly like John Hoyt. Jeannie wondered if the actor had a brother in the candy business as she took a spot behind Beverly.

   "We're on our way to a birthday party," Beverly explained, "for an eight year old boy. Well, I guess now he'd be nine, but we thought a big bag of candy might be a good idea for a present for him and his little friends. But we're at a loss as to what would make the right gift."

   "I see. Well, I have a gift pack of assorted chocolates which might fit the bill."

    "I don't know if all the kids like chocolate. But it's a start!"

   Later, the girls arrived at the backyard party. The kids were bug-eyed as Jeannie began handing out gigantic bags containing an equal assortment of chocolates, suckers, ropes, and baggies of every form of confection which could be stuffed into duffels roughly the size of each child in attendance. Beverly had shelled out $100 worth of candy for each child, giving Davy the two extra bags she brought along to cover the estimated number of kids. Never had a little boy shown such an expression of delight. And Beverly spent the whole afternoon with Davy, answering every question he could think of. 

   Jeannie helped Davy's mother clean up after the party as Beverly continued to chat with the boy.

   "I can't tell you how nice it was of you two to do this," his mother beamed, "it really made my Davy's day."

   "We were about his age when we first got into pictures," Jeannie noted, "so this invite was pretty special."

   "We'll never forget this, Miss Baxter. And I can't say how grateful I am to the kids for arranging this."

   "I didn't get a chance to tell Beverly why the kids were so keen on her being here, but I imagine she's found out by now."

   "Yes. When we got the news that his father's jet had exploded... Davy wouldn't speak for days. You and your sister have done more for us today than you can ever imagine. This is the first time in weeks that Davy has been himself. Oh, I'm not saying the pain is gone, that'll take a long time, but seeing him smile again is so wonderful..."

   "I imagine it's pretty hard on you, too."

   "You have no idea. I keep expecting to see Warren walk through the door, looking so spiffy in his uniform... It'll take time. But thank you for helping us get started on the road to recovery. Bless you girls."

   On the drive home, Beverly was quiet. Jeannie couldn't think of a thing to say, either. Finally, Beverly spoke up.

   "I'm really glad we did this, Jean. Thank you for showing me those letters."

   "Sorry about the movie."

   "There'll be other movies. Do you have any plans for tomorrow?"

   "None. What's on your mind."

   "I want to take Davy fishing. He used to take fishing trips with his father every weekend they could get away together. I know I'm no substitute for his dad, but it's something I want to do."

   "I think that's a fine idea. But, why do you need me along?"

   "Because I don't know the first thing about fishing."

   "I don't either."

   "There's a sporting goods store on the square. Let's stop by and pick up a few things."