Any Excuse for a Party
Logan rolled down the ramp at Jam Pony. As usual, Normal acted like he'd never seen him before and said, "Can I help you?"
Logan looked up at him as Normal leaned over the desk. "Yes, ah, where's Max?"
Normal consulted his watch. "Hopefully on a run. You want to wait for her? I have no idea when she'll be back."
"Sure. Thanks. I'll just get out of your way," Logan wheeled away from Normal and found a cozy, safe spot. He locked his wheels and pulled a magazine out of his jacket pocket, settling in to wait for Max.
Max met up with Original Cindy after her run. They exchanged conspiratorial giggles, then headed off together toward Sector Five.
"You did order it, right?" Max asked.
"Of course, sugah. Yesterday. Just like we agreed."
"And everyone's okay with it?" Max was curious. They had never done this before.
"They all down with it, boo. Don't worry."
"'K. I'll try not to."
"Anyway, we better get goin'. Place closes at six."
They peddled faster and hoped that the sector police wouldn't hassle them too much.
Logan glanced at his watch. It had been an hour since he'd come to Jam Pony and there was still no sign of Max. He was beginning to worry. He paged her, hoping she was near a phone. When he looked up, he realized that most of the other messengers he knew, like Original Cindy, Sketchy, and Herbal, were also missing. He wondered what was going on.
"Normal," he said, as he wheeled himself back to the reception desk, "any idea where Cindy or Sketchy are?"
Normal looked around. "No idea. Those miscreants could be anywhere. Not my day to watch them." He shrugged. "Bip bip bip! Get a move on it, Sky!" He yelled at the small, bald, androgynous messenger who was goofing off in a corner.
Logan had to smile at Normal's attempt to control the chaos that usually ruled at Jam Pony. Still, he was worried about Max. She'd been incommunicado for too long a time. He dialed her pager again.
Just then, Max and Original Cindy strolled down the entrance ramp into Jam Pony. They were carefully cradling several packages, including a large, rectangular one that both of them balanced. A few minutes later, Sketchy arrived, and right behind him, Herbal and Druid. All of them nodded briefly to Normal and Logan, then smiling conspiratorially, headed to the kitchen area. They all looked guilty.
"Something's going on," Logan declared.
"Probably," Normal agreed. "Something's always going on with that crowd." He looked unconcerned. Logan thought it odd that Max barely acknowledged his presence. After all, they hadn't had a fight recently. He turned around and headed toward the kitchen to see what was going on.
No sooner had he gotten there, than Max held her finger to her lips and shushed him. Then she motioned to him to follow her. As quietly as he could, he pushed forward, his wheels squeaking, right behind her. Cindy, Sketchy, Herbal, and the others were setting a table that bore a sheet cake, paper plates and napkins, and an assortment of flatware. Sky was putting a beat-up coffee urn on the table and Cindy was pulling mismatched mugs out of an overhead cabinet. Logan wheeled nearer to the table and saw that the cake bore an inscription: "Happy Birthday, Normal!" in looping purple icing letters. He smiled.
Max delicately placed a number of candles on the cake. Messengers continued to filter in and contribute party stuff – a couple of containers of ice cream, a variety of sodas, a still-sealed can of peanuts. Original Cindy and Max reeled out crepe paper streamers in purple and yellow and hung them all over the room. Within fifteen minutes, they had the whole kitchen area decorated.
Normal, as usual, remained oblivious to the messengers' comings and goings, except to chastise one or two for being late with a delivery or not getting a signature. Then he went into his office to do paper work in peace. Logan was happily drawn into the conspiracy. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been to a birthday party.
"Now," Original Cindy said, "for the piece de resistance." She leaned over and dug into a large paper sack. When she straightened up, she was holding a handful of silly, multicolored paper hats. "Everybody grab one. And save one for the birthday boy."
Max put a purple conical hat on her head, snapping the elastic. Then she bent over and placed a similar one on Logan's head. He started to protest, but once again, she shushed him. "It's for Normal," she whispered.
"Okay, but why are you going to all this trouble for Normal? You don't even like him."
"Who said we don't like him?" Max laughed. "Cindy found out that Normal never had a birthday party when he was a kid, so she arranged this. I know how important it is for people to celebrate things, especially in these hard times...."
"Yeah, so I've said a few times," Logan admitted. "You never fail to amaze me." He smiled at Max brightly, the grin lighting up his face.
"Okay, we're ready. Everybody over here," Original Cindy said "I'll go get Normal."
The messengers crowded around in front of the table, hiding its contents. Logan wheeled over to the side of the room out of the way. He figured that it would get a little chaotic once Normal showed up.
Cindy knocked on the door of Normal's office. She heard him grunt something that she hoped was "come in."
"What's up, Missy?" Normal looked up from his account books.
Cindy leaned against the door frame. "Normal, we got a situation that needs your attention," she said cryptically.
"What is it this time? Did one of those malcontents set fire to the place?" he replied as he got up from his chair.
"You'll see."
Normal followed Cindy into the kitchen, where he found all the messengers lined up in front of the dilapidated table. They were all grinning like fools.
"What's going on here?" He surveyed the room, but everything seemed to be in place.
The messengers parted in the center, revealing the table covered with goodies. Normal's jaw dropped and he just stared.
"Happy Birthday!" the messengers yelled.
Normal walked over to the table and looked it over. "Well, for the love of Mike!"
Max stepped forward and handed Normal an envelope. He opened it and pulled out a colorful card, obviously handmade. It was signed by all the messengers.
"So this is what you miscreants have been up to." But he was smiling as he said it.
Cindy came over to him with one of the silly hats. "Here, Normal." He shot her a sideways look, but put it on. He kept shaking his head in amazement, and the pointy hat bobbed up and down as he did.
"Ya gotta cut the cake," Sketchy said, handing Normal a knife. "And we've even got ice cream in the fridge."
"How long have you people been planning this?" Normal asked as he carefully cut the cake, making sure that each piece was the same size.
Max handed Logan a piece of cake and a bent fork. "What flavor ice cream do you want? We've only got vanilla and chocolate..."
"Vanilla's fine," Logan replied, digging into the cake.So much for inviting Max to dinner, he thought.
"Mmm, this is good. Maybe I will choose a birthday if it means ice cream and cake." She looked at Logan with a sly smile on her face. He laughed.
"Okay. You choose a birthday and I'll supply the ice cream and cake. Promise."
"You're on."
Happy chaos reigned for a while as the messengers, Logan, and Normal devoured the treats. Finally, Cindy banged on the coffee urn with a spoon.
"Now, the birthday boy has to give us a speech," she declared.
Normal glared at her briefly, then cleared his throat.
"As much as all of you give me heartburn nearly every night, I do appreciate your efforts today. Once in a while you prove to me that you really are intelligent human beings. Thank you."
"You're welcome, Normal. Any excuse for a party, even your birthday," Cindy, sassy as ever, replied. "Just don't expect us to do this every year."
"Wouldn't think of it." Normal scratched his head. Suddenly, he leaned over and kissed Cindy on the cheek. "Thank you," he whispered.
Cindy's eyes widened in surprise, but she returned his gesture with a quick peck on Normal's cheek. "You're welcome," she said again. "Now eat your ice cream. Original Cindy don't want to have to mop up melted ice cream off the floor."
Max and Logan exchanged glances while Cindy and Normal were getting mushy. "This looks like a good time to blaze," Max said.
"Yeah," Logan replied, unlocking his brakes. As they made their way out of Jam Pony, he turned to Max and asked, "Now that we've had dessert, how about dinner at Chez Cale?"
"Sounds like a plan," Max said, smiling at him. "Take off your hat. You look silly."
The End