The Birthday Gift
By Kiera Mortensen
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Jonny Quest. I simply enjoy the series and wished to share that with others.
"Wake up, Jonny," a cheerful voice broke through seven-year-old Jonny Quest's consciousness.
Jonny snapped awake and grinned. He jumped out of bed and into his clothes. Then he made his bed, checked his room to make sure that Mrs. Evans would be pleased with it, and bounded out of his room and down the stairs. He was glad that it was a Saturday.
It was his eighth birthday and his parents were going to take him out for breakfast and then they had a surprise for him. Jonny could hardly wait.
"Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad!" he cried joyously.
"Happy Birthday!" they responded, smiling at each other.
"Are you ready to go get some breakfast, Jonny?" his father asked.
"I sure am," Jonny replied.
"Alright then, let's go," his mother said. "Where do you want to go?"
They all went outside and got into the car. They headed for a very elegant, very expensive restaurant that went by the name of Le Chateau Pierre. They went inside and Dr. Quest let Jonny tell the maitre d that they wanted a table for three, preferably in the non-smoking section. The maitre d smiled and showed them to a table with a beautiful view of the Atlantic Ocean.
When the waitress appeared to take their order, Jonny spoke right up and asked for three pancakes drenched in maple syrup, two scrambled eggs, and a glass of orange juice.
After Dr. and Mrs. Quest ordered, Jonny piped up and said, "Today is my birthday."
"Really?" asked the waitress. "How old are you?"
"I'm eight years old," Jonny replied, with a lop-sided grin.
"Well," said the waitress, "I'll see what I can do about getting your order out as quickly as I can."
About five minutes later, the waitress returned. To Jonny's surprise, the maitre d was with her. It seemed to him that the rest of the restaurant's staff was with her as well.
They began singing "Happy Birthday" to Jonny and soon the entire restaurant chimed in. As they sang, a cake was brought out and set down in front of Jonny. When they were done singing, the maitre d said, "Make a wish and blow out all the candles, monsieur!" Jonny made a wish and then proceeded to blow out all of the candles with one breath.
After breakfast they went out to the car and blindfolded Jonny. Then they drove to the local animal shelter. Jonny thought they were at the pet store in the mall because he could hear all of the animals whining.
His parents took Jonny up to one of the people who worked at the shelter. Jonny's mom removed the blindfold and told the man that Jonny wanted to pick one of the animals to have as a pet.
"Alright," the man said.
Jonny went up and down the aisles looking at all the animals and trying to decide which one he wanted. All of a sudden, he heard a whimper that sounded like a small dog that was half resigned to and half denying its fate. He looked up and saw a little white dog with something that looked like a black mask over its eyes. He instantly decided that was the dog he wanted. Then he realized that the little dog's leash was being held by a tall muscular man who looked like he could to squish all of the animals in the shelter.
"Mister," Jonny asked, "did that little dog already get adopted by another family?"
"No, he hasn't, little boy," the man replied. "No one came to take him home so I'm afraid that he has to be put to sleep. I feel sorry for him. Nobody wants him."
"But I want him, sir," Jonny said. "Really I do! Can I please have him? Please?"
Just then his mom and dad walked up.
"Did you find one, son?" asked Dr. Quest.
Jonny looked down at the ground sadly. "Yes, I did Dad. But he is going to be put to sleep because no one else came to claim him and not it is too late."
The tall man bent down until he was eye-level with Jonny. "It's not too late, little boy. If you want him, all you have to do is ask your parents if you can have him. Then they get to fill out a lot of paperwork and give one of the employees some money. Then he's yours for the rest of your and his lives. As long as you aren't mean to him, that is."
"I won't be mean to him," Jonny assured the man.
"Well then," the man said. "If it is alright with your parents, he's yours."
Jonny looked at his mom and dad. Both of them smiled at him and nodded their heads. After all of the paperwork had been filled out and Dr. Quest had paid for the little dog, the family got a leash and clipped it to the dog's new collar.
The tall man had not been able to be the guy to help the Quests acquire Jonny's new pet, but as the Quests were heading for their car, he saw them and walked over. He bent down until he was eye-level with Jonny again.
"Have you named your dog yet?" he asked.
"No," Jonny said.
"What?!" the man said with a grin. "You've gotta name the little guy! You can't just say 'Hey you!' all the time."
"Umm, how about Bandit?" Jonny asked, a little timidly.
"Sure! That's a great name! Why did you pick it?" the tall man replied.
Jonny grinned his lop-sided grin. "Because of the black mask on his eyes."
"That's a good reason," the man said. "Well, I had better get back to work. I hope that you and Bandit have fun and that he lives with you for a long time. Bye-bye, little boy."
"Bye-bye. And thanks a lot, mister. I really appreciate what you did," Jonny said.
The tall man smiled. To Jonny, he looked like he was on the verge of tears. "You're very welcome. And if you ever decide to come by here when you're out walking Bandit, just stop by. Ask for Sean M. I'd like to see how you two are getting along sometime. By the way, what's your name?"
"My name is Jonny," Jonny replied. "And I will stop by if my Mommy and Daddy let me."
Sean walked away with a smile on his face.
Jonny grinned at his parents and then looked at his new puppy. "Come on, Bandit," he said. "Let's go home."
THE END