“Hi, Mrs. Odell!”

Joshua had been best friends with Davy Odell for as long as he could remember. Walking into the Odell house was like walking into his own.

Davy’s mother looked up from the wedding cake she was decorating.

Joshua peeked around the kitchen door.

“Oh, hello dear!” she said.

Joshua closed the door behind him. He rubbed his hands together.

“It’s cold outside!” he commented. “Where's Davy?”

“Oh, he's in the living room working on something.” She sighed. Then she turned her attention back to the cake.

“See if you can keep him out of trouble, would you?” she said with a wink.

“I'll try,” he replied. “Christmas is coming, so I might have some luck with that.”

Joshua walked into the living room. Davy was sitting in front of the television. There was a big pile of wiring on the coffee table in front of him.

“Hey!” Joshua said. “Ready to go to Pat's house? Karen's already over there.”

Their girlfriends liked hanging out together—but Joshua and Davy were late.

“Almost. I'm just trying to fix these Christmas lights first,” Davy answered.

Joshua sat down beside Davy and looked at the television. “Why are you watching this?”

Davy glanced up at the television. “You're never too old to watch Mister Rogers,” he replied.

It was an old kids’ TV show, but it was a good one.

“Besides," Davy continued, "I like the trolley.”

“I always liked X the Owl myself,” said Joshua, talking about his favorite character on the show.

He looked at the mess that Davy was working on. “Aren't these the lights you strung up in the maple tree last spring?”

“Yeah,” Davy answered. “They were all tangled and twisted together in knots. I had to cut them to get them down.”

“You could have taken the extra time to get them down in one piece,” suggested Joshua.

“Nah." Davy shook his head. "It's too cold out...I didn't feel like getting frostbite messing around outside with these stupid lights in the snow.”

“Wouldn't it be easier to just buy new ones?” Joshua asked.

Davy nodded. “I did, but I'm hoping to save these, so I can return the new ones and get my money back. Here,” he added, handing some electrical tape to Joshua. “Tape up these wires, would you?”

Joshua sat down and cut a piece of tape.

“If they've been out in the weather this long, they're probably not any good,” he said to his friend.

“We'll find out soon,” said Davy. “I'm about to plug them in and see if they light up. Maybe the weather hasn’t ruined them.”

Joshua finished with the tape and moved way back. “The words plug and weather make me nervous when they're used together.”

“Oh, quit being such a pessimist, always thinking the worst will happen,” grumbled Davy. “These things will light up like new. Watch!”

Davy stuck the plug into an outlet.

They watched as the lights lit up and began to shine.

“See? I told you they'd be fine!” Davy grinned.

No sooner did he speak than the entire string of lights went out. All except for one.

They watched as the lone light flickered and smoked—and then went out.

“See? They work perfect!” Davy was still grinning.

“They all went out.” Joshua was confused.

“But I still got them to light up!”

“Once,” noted Joshua.

He pulled the plug on the lights.

“But they worked,” Davy teased.

He looked at the pile of lights. “Got your Christmas shopping done yet?” he asked.

“Almost. I got something special for Karen,” Joshua explained. “But I found something else I think she would like.”

“What is it?” asked Davy.

“I was thinking of building her one of these for Christmas,” said Joshua.

He showed Davy a magazine page he had in his pocket. Davy looked at the picture.

“That's pretty cool," he agreed. “She would definitely like that.”

Joshua nodded. “I just need to find a place to build it.”

“Why don't you just build it in your room? That's what I'd do,” suggested Davy.

“I know YOU would,” said Joshua. “But my bedroom isn't exactly the best place for cutting and building with wood. Besides, I want to keep this a secret.”

“How about you build it in my room instead?”

“No way!” laughed Joshua. “I'd never see it again if I tried to build it in there!”

“Let's go ask Dad,” said Davy. “I'll bet he would let you build it out in the shop.”

Joshua liked that idea.

“You think he would?”

“Sure, why not? Besides, Dad likes you.”

The shop was where Mr. Odell worked on people's cars. Getting space in the shop to work on something was a big deal. They needed his permission.

Davy gathered up the pile of wiring and headed for the kitchen.

Joshua greeted Mrs. Odell again. He held the kitchen door open for Davy, then closed it behind them.

He followed Davy across the snowy yard to Mr. Odell's garage. It was time to see if Joshua was going to get to make Karen's gift...

On the way, they stopped at the junkyard where Mr. Odell kept all the metal scrap and old cars he couldn’t fix. Davy wanted to toss the old Christmas lights into a wrecked car that was going to be crushed.

“Wow,” said Joshua as he looked at the damaged car. He brushed some snow off for a better look. “This one sure got messed up.”

“Yeah,” agreed Davy. He tossed the bundle of lights through where the windshield used to be. “I think they tried to jump with it.”

“Looks like it landed at the bottom of the Grand Canyon,” joked Joshua as they walked away. “How's your Christmas shopping going for Pat?” he asked.

“Pretty good,” answered Davy. “There's a couple things that I'm still working on, but I already got the perfect gift for her.”

“What did you get?”

Davy reached into his pocket.

“I got her a Sooper Goop decoder ring,” he answered, showing it to Joshua. “Pretty neat, isn't it?”

Joshua hesitantly agreed. He didn’t want to hurt his friend’s feelings. But he wasn’t sure it was a good gift Pat. “Well, sure, but I would think you'd get her something a little more special.”

“What could be more special than this?” demanded Davy as he opened the shop door. “I had to eat six boxes of Sooper Goop to get it!”

“Six boxes?”

“Yeah,” replied Davy. “They put different prizes in different boxes. You never which prize you’ll get. I had to keep buying the cereal until I got what I wanted.”

They walked into the garage where Davy's father was working on a customer’s car.

“HEY DAD!” shouted Davy. “Joshua needs your help!”

“Geez, Davy, do you always have to shout when I'm so close?” complained Mr. Odell.

“Just in case your hearing aid isn't working,” Davy teased.

“I don't wear a hearing aid, but you're going to make me deaf if you keep yelling at me like that,” his father grumbled.

“Can Joshua have some shop space?” asked Davy.

“I have a project I want to build,” explained Joshua. “But I need a place to do it.”

“Oh! What are you building?” Mr. Odell asked.

Joshua pulled the page out of his pocket and showed it to Mr. Odell. “I want to build one of these for Karen for Christmas, but I want to keep it a secret.”

Mr. Odell studied the picture. “Sure, you can use my shop. Especially since it’s for a good cause.”

Smiling, he added, “Karen sure is a special girl, isn't she?”

Joshua smiled back. He was about to say something, but Davy interrupted him.

“I got Pat a Sooper Goop decoder ring,” he said. He held up the ring to show his father. “What about my cause?”

“I might consider it if you got Pat something a little nicer,” grumbled his dad.

When they were done talking to Mr. Odell, the boys went back inside. Davy’s sister, Yvette, was in the kitchen.

Davy showed her his gift for Karen.

Yvette looked shocked. “A Sooper Goop decoder ring??? Is that the best you can do for her?”

“Hey, I had to eat six boxes of this stuff to get it,” said Davy.

He poured some cereal into the large mixing bowl he liked. Joshua filled a glass with ice water.

Yvette threw her hands in the air.

“I can't imagine why she even dates you,” she grumbled. “She's such a nice girl too. Of all the stupid things to give her.”

“Oh yeah? What do you know?” countered Davy.

“I know I won't even admit that you're my brother,” Yvette shot back. “But I'm going to get you the perfect gift that keeps on giving.”

“What's that?” asked Davy.

“I'm going to get you a frontal lobotomy, so doctors can remove part of your brain,” Yvette teased him.

“What kind of stupid gift is THAT?” hollered Davy.

“The perfect kind,” answered Yvette. “A stupid gift for a stupid brother.”