It was a very calm day in the Perry Mason law office while Perry was looking over notes for their current case – Della Street, his girl Friday, the love of his life, and confidential secretary walked in with what was going to be (in Perry's mind) the best birthday gift he could've ever received.

"Happy Birthday, Chief."

Della crooned softly when Perry looked up with a chuckle as she handed him the box,

"Shoes, Ms. Street?"

Della was going to answer when Perry took a second glance at the package seeing the address of Claudia Grayson's school which he had visited the previous month to talk about being a criminal justice lawyer for her government class.

"You must've left a big impression on Claudia."

Perry nodded, remembering Claudia.

Claudia made a big impression on Perry with how she carried herself.

April 1990

"Claudia! Come on, get to class you're going to be late, you've got 2 minutes before the bell rings."

Claudia Grayson, who normally loved going to Government, was having an abnormally tough day.

But when she walked into her class, a few seconds after the bell rang, looked up and saw Perry and Della, her teacher could tell that Claudia's mood shifted.

"Ms. Keller… is that?"

Her teacher nodded,

"Yes."

"Hi, my name is Perry Mason. Pleased to meet you…"

Perry started before Claudia finished.

"…Claudia."

Della smiled before Claudia moved to hug Perry,

"Alright, Claudia, sit down so we can get started."

The teacher commented with a gentle smile while Claudia made it to her seat.

Della was watching all the students but she kept a close eye on Claudia while Perry spoke.

Claudia was listening intently, more so than her other classmates.

Once he finished talking, Claudia raised her hand,

"Mr. Mason? What advice do you have for those my age who might want to be a lawyer like yourself?"

Perry smiled softly,

"You need to have a kind heart but pair it with determination and grit."

"Thank you, Mr. Mason."

Claudia responded with a beaming smile while Della watched the interaction with a beaming smile.

Before Perry and Della left,

"Wait!"

Claudia called before walking up and wrapping her arms around Perry's waist for a big hug,

"Thank you for coming to talk with us, Mr. Mason."

Perry smiled and returned her hug with a bigger one.

"Have a good rest of your day, Claudia."

Della watched her expression change from sadness in leaving to happiness when her hero hugged her and wished her a good rest of her day.

"Oh, I know I will. Bye, Mr. Mason. Bye, Miss Street."

Della smiled when Claudia hugged her as well.

The next day,

"Ms. Keller, could you do me a favor? Can you find out when Mr. Mason's birthday is or if it's already passed? I want to do something nice for him. Which is getting a shoe box and having our period make birthday cards for him and put them in there, then sending it to him for his birthday."

Claudia asked before school while Ms. Keller nodded,

"He really made an impression on you, huh? I can do that. I think what you want to do is a perfect idea."

Claudia giggled before heading to class while her teacher implemented Claudia's amazing plan.

"I remember how we made her day."

Della commented while Perry opened the box as a gasp left both of them: the box was filled with handmade birthday cards from Claudia and her classmates.

Perry fingered through the cards until he found Claudia's and read,

Happy Birthday!

Thank you so much for coming to talk with us. You're my hero, Mr. Mason. What I didn't tell you is that you're the reason why I'm going to become a lawyer. I've heard my parents talk about how you act in the courtroom all the time when I was a kid whenever they'd read the newspaper…

Now, I should stop writing before I truly start to babble.

In closing, my one wish for you is that you have a fantastic birthday – sending all the hugs and love to you on your special day.

Claudia

"Oh… Claudia's going to make an amazing defense lawyer. She's got the determination… but it's mixed with empathy and kindness."

Della commented before Perry began to read the rest of the birthday cards – feeling blessed to have made some new friends: Claudia and her classmates.

This has to be the best birthday I've ever had.

Perry thought with a smile.