Chapter 15: Gazza's Birthday

Dovic and Gazza woke up early and sat in front of the window watching the magpies peck in the dirt looking for worms or seeds. “Oh boy, oh boy,” sighed Gazza, “It’s my birthday today and it’s just us. Everyone else is in iso, and can’t come and celebrate with me. Oh boy, oh boy” and with that, Gazza put his head down, his trunk drooped to the floor and his ears fell flat as a big tear rolled down his face.

Dovic sat quietly beside him and wished The Old Wise One was with him. He always knew what to say in times like these. Dovic put a paw on Gazza’s shoulder and said, “Happy birthday, Gazza. We’re going to have a great day!” Gazza unwrapped his birthday present and exclaimed with joy, “Oh boy, oh wow! It’s a red, micro flip truck. It flips over when it hits a wall and it goes so fast! I’m so excited! Let’s go outside and play with it!” Outside, Dovic and Gazza had a lot of fun playing with the red truck and it was such a beautiful day, the sunshine helped to lift Gazza’s spirits.

They saw the hose wound up against the wall and Dovic invited Gazza to join him there. Gazza looked uncertainly as Dovic nimbly climbed up the hose and when Dovic peered down at him, he took hold of the hose and hesitated. He gave it a tug and it didn’t fall down which reassured him somewhat. Mustering his courage, he jumped up, grabbed the hose and put his 2 feet on the brick wall. With Dovic yelling out words to encourage him, he climbed up and then crawled into the centre where Dovic patted him on the shoulder, “Well done, Gazza!” Gazza was a little bit out of breath but managed to get the words, “Oh boy” out. While up in the centre of the hose, they discussed their plans for the rest of the day, talked about their friends who they were missing a lot and watched Milly running around in circles in the backyard, making them feel a little dizzy.

After a time, inspired by the lemon tree in the corner, Dovic recounted a story Tumbarumba had told him when he had first arrived in the Hibiscus clan. Tumba and The Old Wise One had picked some lemons and made a delicious lemon meringue pie but in the middle of the night, Ronnie had woken up and gone and eaten a piece. Gazza laughed and they decided to go and get some lemons. As he’d had enough of climbing for the day, Gazza stayed on the ground with the bucket while Dovic climbed the tree. As he threw the lemons down he aimed for the bucket and Gazza would try to catch them before they hit the ground. When they thought they had enough lemons, they took the bucket inside and presented it to Hibiscus. She raised an eyebrow at their suggestion to make a lemon meringue pie, wondering where she would get the time to do that.

Suddenly they heard the zoom signal and they opened it up and saw their friends on the screen. “Happy birthday, Gazza!” they chorused and when Lulu counted them in, they all sang Happy Birthday to Gazza. He was pleased to hear and see them, and they all told him what they’d been up to. Lulu and Richo had finally agreed on a dance routine that worked with the AFL Richmond theme song, Bruiser and Ronnie had done flips, twists and dives around and under the bed in their room, The Old Wise One and Harley had ruminated on how they would solve the Covid crisis and Ellie and Tumbarumba were making a special gift to give Gazza when they were out of isolation. Gazza told them he had successfully climbed up the hose and told them that he and Dovic had picked lemons so they could make a lemon meringue pie. “Although, Hibiscus didn’t seem too keen on the idea,” admitted Gazza.

After the call, it was time for the party. There were chips and twisties and Dovic added, “Life’s pretty straight without twisties”, strawberry milk, lots of lollies and chocolates, as well as party pies and sausage rolls. “Oh boy, oh boy” exclaimed Gazza, “Food! My favourite party food!” and he began to eat. After Hibiscus had made sure everyone had eaten enough, she brought out the birthday cake and sang Happy birthday to Gazza. He felt so happy and realised that even though he was not able to be with all of his friends right now, he knew they were celebrating his life too. “Birthdays are the best!” he exclaimed and Dovic added, “Oh boy, oh boy!” and they both laughed together.