"Everyone is the age of their heart."
~ Guatemalan saying

Hi all!

Welcome to CABB 7!  We at the JABB YahooGroup decided that, like Andrew, Adam deserved to have his birthday celebrated.  Of course, we have no idea when that is though we suppose "before there was time" works well.  Nonetheless, we wanted an actual date.  So we ended up settling on October 10th so it'd roughly coincide with Thanksgiving Day in Canada.  So now you all have a good excuse to have cake and ice cream on the 10th of October every year! 

I really hope you enjoy Adam's birthday!  May be watch a few Adam episodes or try to create turkey-like substance or sing songs from "Fiddler on the Roof."  Or the best idea just might be to read this lovely story Yvette wrote for us about the first Adam's Observed Birthday in Dyeland.  I enjoyed it and I know you will, too!  Big thanks to Yvette for creating this for us! 

God bless,
Jenni


Adam’s Birthday Surprise
By:  Yvette Jessen



The day started out a bit on the cloudy side and as Yva opened her eyes, she could see a light drizzle falling outside her window.  She groaned lightly, but suddenly remembered how her mother-in-law had often said that rain on days of celebration meant luck to the person for whom the party was bestowed.  She crawled out of bed and walked around it so as to not disturb Sir Sven who was taking advantage of the golden opportunity to sleep in.

Yva could not sleep in, however.  There was simply too much to do!

Today was October 10, 2007, the day that the whole of Dyeland had selected for Adam’s observed birthday.  It was decided that the day would be observed somewhere around the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday as Adam had a fondness for turkeys, and this seemed ideal.  It was a nice suggestion, and since her conversations with Lady JenniAnn, they had both agreed to a surprise party.

Lady JenniAnn, because of her frequent trips to New York, could not host the party at Willowveil, so they decided to have it at Serendipity.  Andrew had been out of town for a time, but had left the key in the capable hands of the two ladies to take care of the preparations.  Of course, for Yva, there was not a lot for her to do.  Between their newest Dyeland arrival, Willy Wonka, and Lady Beth, there were enough sweets and other delicacies to outfit an army.  Of course, they still needed to collect a number of people and get the decorations done.  Somehow things always fell into place, and this was no different.

Since Adam had returned from his assignment in Minnesota the day before, he had retreated to his house and seemed to have gone into hibernation.  In fact, Nigel was the only person / angel to have seen him since his return.  There was no secret that the angel was exhausted, and Yva had contacted Lady Beth asking her if she thought that Adam would be OK with a surprise party since he had seemed insistent about getting some sleep.

After having her breakfast, Yva left Soaring Spirit and walked to Autumn Wind to see about whether or not Nigel and Willy were now awake.  Willy had decided to take up residency with Nigel until the factory on Selini was due to be finished.  It seemed not a bad idea since both Willy and Nigel had very similar clothing styles and were about the same in stature.  Of course, Yva was overjoyed by their close proximity to her and Sir Sven.

Yva knocked on the door and waited for it to swing open.  As she waited, Sir Toby sauntered over to her and began to purr, all the while rubbing against her legs.  She picked up Nigel’s cat and cradled him comfortably in her arms.

“Good morning, to you too you little purr-bucket,” she crooned softly as she waited for the door to open.

When it finally did, her heart gave a slight flutter.  Standing on the other side was a slightly ruffled Willy, his blue eyes keen and alert, his hair looking rather tousled and she smiled despite herself as her brown eyes met his.

“Good morning, Yva,” he began.  “Is it time for us to head to Serendipity?”

“It’s closing in on nine, and Adam is supposed to meet Andrew at the Café at eleven,” Yva began.  “That means that before he leaves to go there, we need to have you and Lady Beth at Willowveil to do the finishing touches on the cake.  We also have to go back to New York to pick up Lady JenniAnn, Vincent, Father, Cathy, Eliot, and Jessie.”

“In other words, we have so much time and so little to do…” Willy began.

“…No, you reversed it again,” Yva giggled despite herself.  For his part, Willy began to laugh, his eyes filled with amusement.  He seemed to really be enjoying himself.  He reached over and gave Sir Toby a scratch behind the ears before backing up so that she could come into Nigel’s Victorian style house.

Willy ushered her into the house and the door closed behind them.  While he set about pulling clothes from his suitcase, Yva returned Sir Toby to the floor and watched as the cat darted across the room to his pillow in the corner.

“I’ll be back in two minutes,” the chocolatier said as he disappeared into the other room.

While he was gone, Yva went into the kitchen and began to put on some coffee.  While it was brewing, someone else knocked at the door and she went over to open it.  Standing on the other side were Monica and Tess.

“Hello Baby,” Tess began.  “It’s been a long time.  I heard that this is where everyone is meeting for Adam’s surprise party.”

“You’re partly right,” Yva began.  “Since three days ago we’ve decided to have it at Serendipity.  Didn’t Andrew send you a message?  Since both houses here are too small, we arranged to have the party there instead.  That way the boys in the band can play a few songs for us.  Anyway, everyone is meeting there at about twelve thirty.  Andrew will have Adam out of the way, and then we can spring our surprise when they get back from the café.”

“Then I think we best go to Serendipity and check in on Andrew and see if he’s got the place properly decorated,” Monica said, but sniffed the air.  It had tinge of chocolate still in it from the last time Willy had done his confections, but now it had a stimulating scent of coffee affixed.  The angel’s brown eyes shone.  “Are you making coffee by chance?”

Yva nodded.  “Sure, I just thought I’d have a cup while Willy and Nigel are getting ready.”  She led the angels into the kitchen and finding several English coffee cups, she began to pour coffee into them.  One she had poured some, she looked at Tess.  “Would you like some.”

“No thank you, baby,” the angel said.  “Miss Wings here can have my share.”

This made Monica’s eyes shine even brighter.

Within seconds, Willy emerged from the room and came into the kitchen.  He was dressed in a fancy waistcoat, suit, and tie, his hair was now lying somewhat flat against his head, but to Yva, he looked about as scrumptious as a candy bar.  She did not add that fact, but these were the thoughts that seemed to be filtering through her mind.

As Monica enjoyed her coffee, Yva looked at Tess.  “Can you both go with Nigel and Sir Sven and meet Rose and Countess Jennifer at Serendipity to help with the decorations?”  She asked.   “I know that this is probably not how you intended on things to be, coming back to Dyeland and getting put to work…” her voice trailed.

“…That’s not a problem,” Monica said as she finished her coffee and started to reach for the coffee pot in order to help herself to another.  A stern look that clearly said ‘no way’ from Tess stopped her actions.  She returned the cup and saucer to the countertop and looked at Yva.  “What are you going to do?”  She asked.

“Willy and I have to go to the Tunnels and meet the others,” Yva answered as they followed Tess out of the kitchen and joined Nigel in the living room.

After giving Yva a customary hug ‘good-bye’, the Victorian angel joined Tess and Monica.  Once they were all gone, Willy and Yva went outside to where the Great Glass Elevator was parked.  It was now time for the two of them to go and meet up with Lady JenniAnn and the rest of their company.

~~~~~

About an hour after leaving the Heavenly Playground, Yva and Willy were standing inside the Great Glass Wonkavator and they were flying towards New York City at breakneck speed.

The chocolatier was smiling broadly as they landed in a secluded and wooded part of New York City’s Central Park.  “Do you think bringing the elevator is too conspicuous?”  Yva asked him.

“I don’t know, and it’s not an elevator, it’s a Wonkavator,” Willy said, his voice emerging somewhat smug.  “Father will no doubt tell us if something is amiss.  You know that he is very conscientious about Vincent’s safety.”

Yva nodded.  “For good reason.  Anyway, I would bet that Jessie would have a fun time riding in your Wonkavator, Willy.  I think it is really cool myself, but you already knew that.”

They arrived several minutes later at the tunnel entrance, and as they reached the gate, Yva began to tap out a short signal on the pipe.  She had never arrived there without an angel in her company and was somewhat concerned about whether or not the tunnel inhabitants would even let her and Willy in.  Of course, she knew that Vincent and Father knew to expect her and Willy on that particular morning, so perhaps she was more alright than she assumed.

The door abruptly gave way and she was left looking into Pascal’s eyes.  “Did I do that right?”  She asked as a greeting.  She knew that Pascal was very much in tuned with the pipes and she felt insecure about tapping out the wrong message.

“Your message, which should have said ‘Adam’s birthday is today’ came out ‘Adam worst day is my birthday’, otherwise you did fine,” the pipe decipherer said, but looked at Willy.  “Ah, you must be the elusive candy maker Father spoke of,” he smiled as he extended his hand.  “Welcome.  Lady JenniAnn and our friends are expecting you in Father’s chamber.  I take it you know the way?”

Willy accepted Pascal’s hand as Yva spoke.  “Yes, thank you.”  Pascal made way for them and they walked towards the inner recesses of the tunnel, the door closing behind them.  Down a large spiral staircase, they soon reached Father’s chamber and sure enough Lady JenniAnn, Vincent, Father, Jessie, Eliot, and Catherine were all expectantly waiting for them.

Yva embraced each of them in turn, but smiled as Willy was introduced to the little girl.  Vincent, Lady JenniAnn, Eliot, Father, and Catherine had already met the chocolatier, so they watched as the child shyly regarded the curly headed man through eyes filled with wonder.  It reminded Lady JenniAnn of the first time Jessie had met Adam and she nudged Vincent who nodded as well.

“Everyone is going to meet at Serendipity, just as we planned,” Yva said.

“Yes, and we have the Wonkavator in a more secluded part of the park,” Willy added.

“I’m afraid that we’ll have to travel by means of the Dyeland exit,” Father said firmly.  “It would not be right for any of us to fly through the air.”  He looked at the chocolatier, and then at Yva.  “You should have known that, my dear.”

Yva nodded but looked at Willy.  He seemed to be unfazed by any of this.  Instead, he had gotten down on his knees and started whispering to Jessie, who giggled happily.

Instead of allowing Father’s scolding to get the best of her, she looked at her brother.  “Vincent, we really didn’t intend for you to ride in it,” she said.  “I think Willy just wanted to see what New York City looked like from above.”

“It was a nice thought,” Vincent said as he put his arm around her shoulder and hugged her.

“Well, I think it would be cool,” Lady JenniAnn said.  “Maybe you can go with Vincent and Catherine back to Dyeland in the old way,  I am feeling like a risk-taker and want to ride in the elevator,” she looked at Eliot and when he shrugged his shoulders, she clapped her hands together happily.  “What about you, Catherine, want to go on an adventure?”

“I’ll pass,” Catherine said, but nudged Yva.  “I get airsick.”

Yva nodded and looked at Willy.  “I guess we’ll meet you at Serendipity,” she said.  “And do make sure Jessie gets there alright, she’s one of Adam’s dearest friends.”

Willy nodded.  “Alright, so who’s coming with me?”

Jessie raised her hand and began to jump up and down while Lady JenniAnn accepted his arm.  “I am, but we’d better hurry.”

“Why is that?” The chocolatier asked.

“Easy, we have to get going before I decide to chicken out and walk,” she responded.

~~~~~

An hour later, Yva, Father, Vincent, Eliot, and Catherine arrived at Serendipity.  The decorating was now in full force.  Sir Sven was on a ladder trying to hold up some balloons, while Rose charged through with streamers with Countess Jennifer running behind her.

“Slow down, Rose,” she called out, “You’ve got the streamers in a bunch.”

Rose stopped and looked around.  “Ooops,” she muttered as she went about to helping Countess Jennifer untangle everything.  Instead of getting everything untangled, Rose ended up decorated, and thus bringing the entire decorating session to a screeching halt.

“Rose, you look like one of the gifts,” Henry mused as he arrived and carried a very large package and put it on the table where the gifts had been placed.  It was by far the largest of the gifts intended for the Angel of Death.

Rose looked down and noticed this and began to giggle as she tried to unravel herself from the streamers.  Instead of helping her, Henry grabbed the camera from off the nearby table and took a picture of her before anyone began to lend a hand and help their friend unwrap herself.

Of course, in all this silliness; Lady JenniAnn, Jessie, and Willy had not yet arrived, and Yva was starting to worry about their three friends.

If things were not crazy enough, Lady Beth soon emerged from the kitchen.  She held a baking spoon in one of her hands and was whacking it against the flat palm of her other hand.  “Alright, where is Willy Wonka, he agreed to help me and now I am doing all the work?”  She asked the group assembled with a scowl lining her face.

“He’ll be here, the Glass Elevator is not as fast as the portal,” Yva said.  “He’s probably giving Lady JenniAnn and Jessie an aerial tour of New York.  They will get here soon.

As if on cue, the door suddenly opened and Lady JenniAnn came into the room, her face flushed with excitement as she went over to the table and placed a package on it.  “Sorry, we’re late everyone.  Jessie and I didn’t have a chance to get Adam’s gifts before now, so Willy took us out to get them for him.”

Jessie happily skipped over to the table and placed her two packages on it with the other presents.  The little girl looked elated.

Willy too had a small gift, of course it looked as though the candy maker had made some special confections for the birthday-angel.

Lady Beth came over and grabbed his arm.  “Uh, Mister Candy Man, I am in dire need of your assistance, now!”  She said and practically pulled the chocolatier into the kitchen.

Jessie giggled as she ran over to Father and Vincent and gave them a hug.  “Ohh, that was so much fun!”  She exclaimed happily as the two of them began to chuckle.  “I got to ride in Willy’s Glass Wonkavator and it was so neat.”

“It sounds like Willy has become quite a hit around here, he appeals to young and old,” the tunnel patriarch said as Tess looked around the room.

“Well, I see a whole lot of people talking and no one decorating.  Now, besides Rose, who looks adorable in streamers, this place isn’t decorated and it’s nearly one.  Adam thinks he’s coming back to rehearse with Andrew and Henry, so it is really time for everyone to get to work before my Angel Boys get back here.”

Yva nodded as the Dyelanders set about to decorating the room.

~~~~~~

Twenty minutes later, the cake was finished and Lady Beth emerged from the kitchen with Willy walking several steps behind her.  They were carrying a tray with a large mocha chocolate cake.  The main room of Andrew’s house was now decorated and looked wonderful.

Nigel pulled Yva aside and whispered to her as Rose went over and turned off the lights.  “You did a wonderful job, Love.”

“I didn’t do everything, this place would never have been as perfect as it is without everyone’s help.  This has been the most amazing thing in the world, and I am so blessed that everyone was so willing to help celebrate Adam…”  Her voice trailed off as Vincent called out from several feet away for them to quiet down.

“I hear Andrew’s voice,” Vincent said, his hearing more keen than all of theirs put together.  At that moment, everyone ducked down as the door opened and Andrew and Adam came in.

“I think I may have blown another fuse.  Wait here, Adam, I’m going to find a flashlight,” Andrew was saying.

As soon as he was far enough away from his friend, the lights went up and everyone jumped from behind their hiding places and yelled at the top of their lungs:

Surprise!!!

Adam’s eyes went wide when he heard the Dyelanders’ shouting and he started to look around the room.  Countess Jennifer was standing with a bright smile on her face.  Next to her Rose was waving a piece of the streamer at him.  Vincent and Catherine had managed to conceal themselves behind a sofa with Nigel, Sir Sven, and Yva.  Willy and Lady Beth were ducked behind the large table where the cake was placed.  Tess and Monica were standing near the doorway.  Father, Jessie, and Lady JenniAnn were peering out from behind a large drape that covered the side of one of the larger windows while Henry and Eliot were peering out from the drape that covered the other side.

As Adam began to recognize what was happening, his eyes simply widened and he stared at the group.  “W-what is this?” He managed to stammer all the while not quite certain that he was ready to believe what had just happened.

As he stood there with bewilderment shadowing his handsome face, Lady JenniAnn stepped forward and began to speak.

“Let it be known to all of you residents and friends of Dyeland, that on this day, the tenth of October, in the year 2007 will begin the tradition of Adam’s observed birthday for all of us to reflect upon and remember.”

She handed the card to Lady Beth, who continued to read:  “Adam, you have been a part of our lives for so long.  You have often celebrated with us for other people, but you have never been the reason for a celebration until today.”

Finally, she handed the card to Yva who cleared her throat and began to read:  “Dear Adam, you have been a friend and confidant to so many of us, and you have spoken with logic and reason when things had fallen apart, and today we want to acknowledge and celebrate you, our friend, and angel.”

As she finished speaking, the whole hall burst into thunderous applause.

Adam watched and felt his eyes filling with tears.  “Andrew, you knew about this, didn’t you?  That was why you were so insistent about me going with you to the café this morning.”

Andrew nodded.  “Happy birthday, Adam.”

At that moment, Jessie ran over to him and wrapped her arms around his legs, thus forcing him to look down.  “Adam, look, you even got presents,” she said excitedly.

Adam looked over at the table and smiled when he saw the gifts that were wrapped in various colors.  He walked over to the table and looked at all the gifts that his friends had given to him.

“I never expected this,” he said as he turned around, “but I couldn’t be happier.  I don’t know what you all got for me, but I want to thank you before I do anything.  This has been the most wonderful surprise, and I am so happy that we are all together.”

~~~~~

Later that evening, Adam sat alone in his house in Tourkia and was looking at all the gifts that he had been given that now lay opened around his room.

Andrew and Henry had given him a new keyboard, something that he had really wanted, but had not really thought about asking the Father for.

Yva had given him a hand made teddy bear with his name on the small tag that stuck out the back stitching.

Sir Sven had selected a special science kit for making candies and other treats.

The dark blue Victorian waistcoat and pants from Nigel hung on the back of his closet door.

The new pocket watch from Monica and Tess could not have come at a better time.  Having lost his in Minnesota had really depressed him, and now he felt as though the Father had answered a prayer that he held in his heart.  This watch had a small dove on the cover, and was even nicer than his old one.

Father and Vincent had each given him a book.

Father’s gift outlined the finer points of chess.

Vincent’s was on the feeding and care of turkeys.

Jessie had given him a hand drawn card with a turkey, but also had managed to find a stuffed one on her excursion with Willy and Lady JenniAnn.

Willy’s gift consisted of a plateful of the finest fudge there was to offer.  Along with that, was a small golden ticket that contained the chocolatier’s best wishes.  This was wrapped with the fudge, but carefully put into a frame so that Adam could hang it on his wall.

Lady JenniAnn’s gift consisted of a windchime with the clang-y pieces shaped like turkeys.  This now hung in the window of his sitting room.

Catherine’s gift was quite original, a police badge with his name engraved on it.  He chuckled as he thought about the cowboy hat that his last assignment gave to him.  He decided straightaway to pin it to his AoD band jacket.

Eliot’s gift was a small handcarved wooden turkey, which surprised him because he didn’t know him very well.

Lady Beth had given him a set of cookbooks with turkey free recipes in them (of course) that now had a special place in his kitchen.

Countess Jennifer’s gift was his very own tool belt, so that he wouldn’t have to keep borrowing Andrew’s to take on little homemaking projects.

Rose’s gift was a big jigsaw puzzle done as a photo of the Dyeland group together. At the bottom of the picture, it reads:  "Happy Birthday"

Along with all the well wishes, cards were lined up along the table from those who were not in attendance at his birthday party:  Enos Strate, Leopold, William and Mary (from the Tunnels), William (from Nigel’s time), a handmade card that was made by the children who lived in the tunnels, as well as best wishes from his fellow angels; Sam, Ronald, and Gloria.

This had indeed been a birthday to remember.


The End.


JABB TOC
JABB 230

(Photo Credits: The photographs used on this page are from "Touched by an Angel" and owned by CBS Productions, Caroline Productions, and Moon Water Productions.  They are not being used to seek profit.)