Kyle was sitting in his wheelchair with his eyes shut.

“Open up!” his mom chimed.

Kyle stared at the cake. “It says ‘Bon Voyage’.”

“Sorry,” his mom answered, “the bakery goofed. We didn’t have time to fix it.” 

Kyle’s little sister Allie snickered.

This birthday was shaping up to be his worst. His mom spent the whole day doing laundry. His dad had been mysteriously absent, running errands. Allie insisted on driving him nuts singing campfire songs. Three presents sat by the cake.

“Open this one,” his dad said.

Kyle tore into the package. “A windbreaker? Um...cool.” He wished for a basketball or remote control car, but the other two boxes were puny. He opened package number two. “Insect repellent. Every boy’s dream,” he said.

The last box contained only a note. “Look outside,” it read. Kyle wheeled himself to the window and looked out. “I can’t see anything. Someone parked a giant RV outside.”

“Surprise!” his family cheered. “We’re going camping in the Grand Canyon!”

“Check out the back of the RV,” his dad said. “It even has a lift for your wheelchair.”

“For real?” Kyle said. “When do we leave?”

“Right now!” his mom said. “Grab your windbreaker.”

© 2008 Adrienne Saldivar. Original for CCF  (Saldivar grants CCF  first electronic rights for one month; CCF may archive the material indefinitely and include it in an eBook anthology).