Snore.

"Mau Loa."

Snooore.

"Mau Loa?"

Snoooooooore.

"It's time to wake up, Mau Loa."

I felt a heavy sensation on my lower body. "Mama! Wake up!"

I shot up. "Huh? I'm up, I'm up!"

My daughter's sweet smile was greeting me. "Good morning, Mama!"

"Good morning, Bianca." To my right was Ludus, kneeled over, with a plate of pancakes.

"Good morning, Mau Loa."

"Good morning, Ludus."

He set the plate on my stomach. "Happy birthday." He gave me a quick kiss on the forehead, and handed me a fork.

"Happy birthday, Mama!" Bianca grinned. "I helped make the pancakes!"

"I'm so proud of you. They look delicious."

"E kala mai for waking you up, Mau Loa." He blushed, putting his hand on his neck. "I didn't want your breakfast to get cold."

"No, no. Mahalo. I appreciate it." I took a bite of my pancakes. "They're delicious. How much love did you two put into this, anyway?"

"Well…" He looked at Bianca.

"Let me tell!" She sat back on my feet. "Well, um, we…um…" She pondered for a moment. "First, we turned off your alarm clock. Teehee, Mama, it's actually 9AM!"

I looked at the clock. "B-But what about the farm?"

Bianca threw her hands up in the air. "Actually, um, we already did everything! I had to help Papa, since he's usually not around to see you work. But I watch you all the time!" Ludus nodded. "But, but… I had to get Papa to milk the cows. I couldn't get the milk out."

I patted her head. "Great job!" I looked around for their servings, and only saw empty plates. "Where's your food?"

"We ate before work. E kala mai, Mau Loa. I didn't want lil' Bianca to get overworked on an empty stomach."

"Mama… Can I have a bite of your pancakes? I had eggs for breakfast."

"Of course, I'll share with you." I fed her a bite.

"Mmm, pancakes are my favorite. Papaaa, make some more for me!"

"Bianca, you already ate breakfast." He patted her head.

"But Paaapaaa, second breakfast."

"You can't deny second breakfast, Ludus." I put my hands together. "Please? Just for my birthday?"

"All right, all right. Second breakfast."

"Yay!"

After breakfast, we all took a walk, holding hands. "Are you sure it's okay to take today off?"

Ludus nodded. "You're my main client after all, Mau Loa."

"True. Where do you want to go today?"

"Mama! Let's go to Tsuyukusa!"

"Hm? Tsuyukusa? What for?"

"Let's all get our hair done. Even Papa."

"M-Me!?" Ludus stopped. "You don't like Papa's ponytail?"

"I love Papa's ponytail! It matches mine!" She grinned. "But… it's Mama's birthday. We should do something special."

I looked at him. "Please, Ludus?"

Again, he touched his neck. "Okay, okay… We'll go."

"All right!" The hairstylist I've seen so often greeted us. "What shall we do today?"

"We're all getting our hair done."

"Wow, that's a surprise! What would you like done?"

"Hmm. Surprise us."

"Ooh, that'll be fun."

We all patiently waited our turn. I watched on as my daughter sat, patiently, in the chair. For once, she was very calm. She caught me looking, and gave me a big, cheesy smile.

"Just style, no cut," I whispered to the stylist. She nodded.

Strand by strand, she tied Bianca's hair into a wonderful, long braid. Bianca popped out of the chair. "Mama! How do I look?"

"You look so pretty. I love it."

"Papa next!"

"Okay, just…go easy on me." She took out his hairband, and undid his braids. I could tell by looking that Ludus wasn't used to having his hair touched. She looked for a moment, before asking if it was okay to do a trim. "Sure, I suppose I haven't had a haircut in a while."

"I'm just taking off the ends, you won't even notice."

"Okay. N-No worries." He dug his fingers into the chair. He closed his eyes.

"It's okay, Ludus." I put my hand on top of his. He relaxed a little.

After taking off the dead ends, she pulled out a straightener. "His hair is naturally wavy, I bet you've never even seen it all straightened out."

"S-Straight?" Ludus's eyes shot back open. "Hang on, I can feel the heat. This isn't going to hurt, is it? E kala mai, I'm not sure if I can do this…"

I squeezed his hand. "It'll only hurt if you keep moving around like that. Just relax."

"Okay." He took a deep breath, and she started straightening his hair.

It was over before we knew it. He stood up, hair hanging to his mid-back.

"Wow, Papa! Your hair is so pretty!"

"Yeah, it's even longer than I thought it was, Ludus."

He blushed. "It's your turn, Mau Loa."

I sat and waited as she pulled my hair into a magnificent up-do.

Ludus stood there, speechless.

Bianca spoke first. "Maaamaaaa!" She dove into me for a hug. "You look SOOO PREEEETTYYYY!"

Ludus joined the hug. "I agree. You look stunning."

We paid the stylist, and went on our way.

"Mama."

"Yes, Bianca?"

"We're going to Westown next."

"Westown? What kind of business do we have there?"

Ludus didn't say anything, but tried to suppress a smile.

"We're going to see your Miss Lisette!" She tugged at my hand, and onto Westown we went.

"Welcome!" Lisette greeted us with a cheerful voice. "Oh, happy birthday!"

"Thanks, Lisette. It's been a wonderful day so far."

"I can see that! You all look absolutely stunning." She glanced at my husband. "Wow, I had no idea your hair was that long."

"Me either." We both laughed.

She kneeled down to greet Bianca. "Your braid looks lovely. Are you here to pick up your special order?"

"Mhm, Miss Lisette. It's for Mama."

"For me?" I looked at Ludus. "So this is why we came here, huh?"

Lisette came out with a beautiful blue bouquet filled with my favorite flowers. Bianca set the money on the counter, took the bouquet, and handed it to me. "Happy birthday, Mama!"

"Thank you! How'd you know those are my favorites?"

"Well, Mama… I noticed you always grow those flowers. See, I pay attention."

Ludus picked her up. "You sure do."

"Your family is so sweet, I'm a little jealous." Lisette wiped her eyes. "Where are you three off to next?"

I started to reply, "Well, we should probably go home and put these in a vase…"

"No, Mama. We have to go to Lulukoko."

"That's right, Mau Loa."

We said goodbye to Lisette, and took a carriage over to Lulukoko.

"Where to?"

"We're gonna go visit Auntie Iluka and Auntie Siluka!"

I started to catch on. "Oh, I wonder why that could be!"

I noticed decorations as we walked up to the restaurant. Iluka ran out and picked up Bianca. "How's my favorite niece doing?"

"Auntie Iluka!"

Iluka glanced over at me. "Oh, and happy birthday."

Siluka slowly walked out. "Happy birthday." She smiled, and Iluka passed Bianca over to her.

"Aloha, Auntie Siluka!"

"Aloha, Bianca."

Ludus put his hand on my back. "It's time for your birthday party, Mau Loa."

We stepped back into our home. "I can't believe you two planned this whole day out for me. I'm touched." I placed the bouquet into a nice vase.

Ludus shook his head. "Actually, Bianca did most of it."

"That's right, Mama! Papa just helped."

I nuzzled her. "You're the best family I could ever ask for."

"I feel the same way, Mau Loa."

"I love you, Mama!"

We all ate birthday cake together, and went to bed.