Chương 19: Game Changer
"Hey, what do you think we should get Phil?", Matt asked when he saw Zephyr in the living room.
"Phil's a tech guy so I got him an iPad", Zephyr answered, taking a sip of his tea.
"That's so much better than what I was planning on giving him", Matt said.
Looking at him, Zephyr asked, "What were you planning on getting him then?"
"I was planning on getting him a new computer or something like that", Matt replied.
"That's actually not too bad you know", Zephyr responded.
"Hey", Matt argued, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Your gifts are really bad", Zephyr replied, getting up from his seat and walking away.
"There's no way I'm that bad, right?", Matt asked himself, frozen by the revelation.
[Time Skip]
"Here goes!", Luke shouted, jumping from the couch with a large number of helium balloons in his hand.
Upon failing to fly, Alex, who was sitting on the couch said, "I think the problem is that you're not jumping high enough. You should get on top of the garage".
"Alex. Stop trying to kill your brother", Claire said as she walked into the room, "Listen, guys, I need your help. We've got to find you'd dad one of those iPad things. So Haley, text everyone you know", she said, receiving a nod from Haley, "Alex. Facebook. Twitter. Chat. Buzz. Bling, I don't know. Just do what you can". After receiving a nod from Alex, Claire turned to look at Luke, "Luke, that means staying out of everyone's way and stop inhaling the balloons"
"I'm not inhaling them", Luke defended in a high-pitched voice.
"Stop lying", Claire exclaimed as she left the room.
"How'd she know?", Luke asked, still with a high-pitched voice, receiving looks from Haley and Alex.
As she was leaving the house, Claire was met with the sight of Matt and Zephyr, with Zephyr holding a rectangular gift in his hands. "Hey you two. I'd greet you, but I have somewhere to be".
"It's fine", Matt waved off her concerns, "I'm sure you're busy with Phil's party".
"Yep. That's exactly what's happening", Claire agreed unconvincingly, "Okay. I'll see you all later", she said, pushing past them and out of the house.
"So what's going on?", Zephyr asked as he entered the house.
"Mom was supposed to wait in line to get an iPad for Dad but she fell asleep and didn't get it so now she's going out to look for one", Alex answered.
"No way!", Zephyr exclaimed, "That's the present I got for Phil".
"We got", Matt interrupted, however, he didn't argue any further upon seeing the look he received from Zephyr.
"That's such a relief", Alex said, smiling in joy.
Matt, who was looking out the window, asked, "Is anyone going to tell Claire that".
Alex shook her head, "Give it an hour or two. Might teach her a lesson".
"Oh My God!", Zephyr exclaimed while smiling, "You're so evil".
"Good God", Matt prayed, "There's two of them", he muttered seeing the near identical look on their faces.
[Time Skip]
"Haley, I just struck out again", Claire said on the phone, "Please tell me you have some good news".
"The Grove just got a shipment", Haley, muttered, tapping away on her laptop, "I'm sending you the instructions right now".
"Okay. That's good. That's good", Claire exclaimed, "I'm there. I'm on that", she muttered, finishing the call.
"You know what", Haley said, "It's pretty fun messing with Mom like this. It makes me want to do it more often".
"I know right", Alex said, "You feel so satisfied knowing that your plan is working".
"Exactly how I feel whenever I trick Matt", Zephyr added while nodding his head proudly.
"You know I'm right next to you right?", Matt asked, looking at Zephyr with wide eyes.
"How long do you think it'll take?", Zephyr asked Alex and Haley.
"The line is not too long, but there aren't too many iPads in the shipment to begin with", Alex answered, "So I'd say an hour or two".
"That's plenty of time to make a cake", Zephyr said, making his way over the kitchen counter, "Is Phil fine with a chocolate cake?"
"I'm pretty sure that's his favourite", Alex answered, walking over to him, "Just make sure to have vanilla frosting. He really likes it for some reason".
"So chocolate cake with vanilla frosting it is then", Zephyr answered. Just as he was about to get things prepared, he turned to look at Alex and asked, "Why don't you help me with the cake? Matt's useless at cooking and I've heard that Haley's just as bad".
"Hey!", Matt shouted, indignantly.
"That's true", Haley agreed.
"Sure", Alex nodded, "Why not? It'll be fun".
"While you guys do that", Haley said, walking away from them, "I'm going to get ready. So don't come into my room for like an hour Alex. Okay?"
Alex didn't really pay attention to what she said and nodded her head, helping Zephyr with the preparations.
Looking at this, Matt muttered under his breath, "You know what. I feel like a third wheel right now".
[Time Skip]
Vibrant decorations adorned the walls, and colourful balloons were scattered across the rooms. The tables were adorned with a variety of delicious treats, including a decadent cake adorned with candles. Music filled every corner of the house, as Cam plaid a captivating mix of tunes. Laughter echoed throughout the house as family members mingled with each other.
"Hey Dad", Alex said as she saw Phil enter the house, "Almost everyone is here. We're just waiting for Mom to come".
"That's nice", he said, a large smile on his face. Walking down the hallway with Alex and Zephyr, who were ensnared in their conversation. "Huh. Nice balloons", Phil commented when he saw the balloons.
As he walked into the kitchen, he was met with the sight of a feast of food. There were pizzas, chips with dips, chicken nuggets, mini hot dogs, sliders, mozzarella sticks, sandwiches, ice cream, cupcakes and more. However, what immediately snatched his attraction was the large rectangular cake with vanilla frosting with the words 'Happy Birthday Phil!', which brought a real smile onto his face.
"Happy birthday!", everyone present shouted at the same time, causing his smile to grow even wider and a small tear rolled down his cheek. Wiping the tear away, he looked at them with a smile and said, "You guys. Get in here", he brought everyone in for a hug.
"Happy birthday Dad", Alex whispered.
Once they separated, Zephyr clapped, bringing everyone's attention to himself, "Come on. Open your presents, Phil".
Phil nodded his head and made his way to the small pile of presents on the table and opened the one at the top. Tearing it apart, he laughed, "A chess set. I'm sure I'll use it to destroy Alex in a chess match".
At his words, everyone laughed, which made the atmosphere more warm. "I'd watch out for Manny if I were you", Jay commented, which brought a smile to Gloria and Manny's face.
Opening the next present, which was slightly smaller than the others, "Oooh. A new speaker".
Mitchell moved forward to clarify, "Claire said Luke broke your old one so Cam and I decided to get you the best one in the market".
"Thanks you two", Phil said.
"Open our one!", Zephyr said in excitement.
"I'm sure you'll love it", Matt added.
Not hesitating, Phil quickly tore apart the present and a cry of shock escaped his lips, "You guys", he said, with tears in his eyes, "Get in here", he muttered, bringing Matt and Zephyr in for a warm hug that Mitchell quickly took a picture of with his camera. Once separated, Phil couldn't help but state, "You got me the iPad wanted".
"I noticed you're a tech guy so I thought you'd love it", Zephyr commented.
Phil smiled at that and looked at everyone present, however, the smile shrank when he noticed that someone was missing. Noticing this, Zephyr grabbed Phil's arm and moved him towards the table, "Come on birthday boy. Blow your candles".
As he prepared to do so, everyone surrounded Phil, with Mitchell being the only one excluded as he was going to record it. Just as Phil was about to blow, the door opened and Claire walked in with a dishevelled appearance. When she saw what was happening through the hallway, she fixed up her appearance as much as she could and rushed over to them. Seeing Phil, she quickly hugged him, "I'm sorry for not getting you your iPad honey".
Phil responded to the hug by wrapping his arms around her waist, "I don't care about that anymore. I'm satisfied by you being here".
"Aww", Claire muttered, giving him a quick kiss on the lips, "I promise to get you the best birthday present next year".
"It's fine", Phill muttered, livening up the mood, "Let's blow out the candles guys!".
As Phil began blowing out the whistles, everyone cheered.
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