The (Almost) Birthday Special(Marla) Brenda colored in her coloring book as her mom watched the ballet performance on the television. Her mom loved to watch dancing. Yesterday she watched ballroom dancing. Brenda smiled and said, “Why do you like this stuff so much, Mom?”

“They’re just so graceful. Don’t you like watching it?”

Brenda shrugged. “I guess. But it would be more fun to actually be there.”

“Well, yes, that’s true. But this is a small town. We’d have to travel to a big city to see something like this.”


Brenda went back to her coloring book. Her mother’s birthday was next week, and Brenda wasn’t sure what to give her. She had some money in her piggy bank. Maybe she could get her dad to take her to the store to find a bracelet. Or maybe she could draw a picture of a ballerina. Or maybe…maybe her mom was wrong. Maybe there were dancers in their little town.

Brenda waited until her mother was busy making dinner before she grabbed the heavy phonebook and hid in the hallway. She turned to “D” and started looking, her small finger tracing down the page until she came across the word she was looking for. The first thing listed was a dance studio. She read it carefully and realized that it was a school for little kids. She kept looking. The next one looked more promising. “Private Dance for Adults. Call us for your next party. We never disappoint!” Well, that seemed like a great choice! She wrote down the number and put it in her pocket. She returned the phonebook and saw that her mother was still cooking.

Brenda went quietly upstairs to the spare bedroom to use the phone that was in there. She dialed the number and waited nervously.

“Trudy’s Dancers, how may I help you?” The woman who answered sounded extremely friendly.

Brenda wasn’t at all sure what she was supposed to say, but she did her best.
“Umm, hi. My name is Brenda. It’s my mom’s birthday next week. She loves watching people dance. Can you send some dancers to our house for her birthday? And umm, how much do I have to pay?”

There was a space of silence before the woman cleared her throat and said, “Brenda, how old are you?”

“Nine.”

“Okay, well you have to be at least eighteen to schedule. Does your mom know that you are calling?” Trudy tried not to laugh. She was certain of the answer already.

“No, I wanted to surprise her,” Brenda answered.

Trudy smiled and put her hand over her mouth. It took all of her self-control not to laugh. No doubt that Brenda’s mother would be surprised if Trudy sent any dancers to her. She said, “Brenda, I’m so sorry. I have to take care of something here. I will call back tomorrow. Will you just give me your number, please?”

Brenda did so and hung up happily. It had been difficult to call, but the woman had sounded so nice over the phone, and that had helped. And she’d said that she would call back! It was Brenda’s first business phone call, and she felt that it had gone pretty well.

Trudy called back at 10:00 the next morning, as she assumed that Brenda would be in school. Oh, dear, though, what to say?

“Brenda’s mother answered on the third ring. “Hello?”

“Yes, hello. My name is Trudy. Is this Brenda’s mother?”

“Yes, who is this?”

“My name is Trudy. I have a business, Trudy’s Dancers.”

There was a small gasp over the phone. “Is that…?” She started to ask but couldn’t finish.

“Yes.”

“Why are you calling me?” Brenda’s mother asked.

“Brenda called me last night.”

“I’m sorry?” Brenda’s mother was bewildered.

“Yes, I’m sure she didn’t know what sort of business she was calling. She wanted to surprise you for your birthday.” Trudy said this carefully. While she found it humorous, she realized that this woman that she didn’t know might not find it so funny.

“Oh.” Then silence. Then there was a lovely, high-pitched laugh. “Oh, my. I don’t even know what to think!” Then she said hastily, as if she had to explain, “Brenda knows that I like to watch ballet and ballroom dancing!”

Trudy smiled as she held the phone. She allowed herself a laugh as well and the two women, though strangers, enjoyed a few moments of shared laughter over the phone. Then she said, “Yes, well, I thought that you might like to know. And I didn’t tell her anything. She said she was nine years old, so I thought that perhaps you’d like to choose what to tell her.”

Brenda’s mother said, “That was very considerate of you. Thank you for not telling her.”

“Of course. Well, I need to go, but I wish you a happy birthday!”

“Thank you. Have a good day!”

“Good-bye.”

“Good-bye.”

That afternoon, Brenda and her mother had a little chat over milk and cookies.

And then Brenda started to draw what would turn out to be a very beautiful picture of a ballerina while her mother wrote a letter to her own mother. She smiled the whole time she wrote.

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