Chapter 33 "Happy Birthday, Momma!" Matt and Ruby help Kitty celebrate her birthday. (This is another story in honor of Amanda Blake's birthday (February 20th).

Ruby woke up bright and early. She was excited. Today she and daddy were going to go into town and buy momma a birthday present. Ruby threw back her covers and climbed out of bed. She went to her bedroom door, opened it, and ran to her parents' bedroom. Remembering what her parents taught her about privacy, Ruby knocked on the door. She waited for a response.

"Who is it?" Matt asked, obviously knowing who it was. However, this was their game. Matt or Kitty would ask who it was and Ruby would answer.

"It's Ruby Kathween Diwon," Ruby replied. "Can I come in?"

Matt and Kitty looked at each other and tried not to laugh. "Come on in," said Kitty.

Ruby opened the door and saw her parents in bed. "Daddy, why are you in bed? We have ta buy momma's birthday present."

"We can't buy momma's birthday present when yer still in yer nightgown," said Matt, pointing to Ruby.

"And you can't leave without eating breakfast," Kitty added.

"Yer momma's right," said Matt. "We'll get dressed and eat breakfast. After that, we'll go into town."

"Okay," Ruby said as she quickly went back to her bedroom. "I'm waitin'! Someone howp me pick out my dress!"

"Hold on!" Kitty yelled.

"One of us better get in there," Matt laughed. "She's so excited to pick out a present for her momma."

"That may be, but I think she's just as excited to spend time with her daddy," said Kitty. "I'll go help her pick out a dress."

Kitty quickly got herself dressed and went to Ruby's bedroom. She would do her hair later. When Kitty entered Ruby's room, Ruby was standing in front of her wardrobe, studying her dresses. Kitty knew Ruby wanted a special dress for today.

"Let's find a special dress for your day with daddy," said Kitty as she approached Ruby. "I think this is the perfect dress." Kitty pulled out a green dress with bright yellow flowers.

"I wike that dress," said Ruby.

Kitty took Ruby's nightgown off of her and replaced it with the dress. Next, Kitty put Ruby's hair in pigtails, with a yellow bow in each one. Now that Ruby was ready for the day, it was time to make her bed. Kitty made the bed and Ruby put Annie and Lulu in front of the pillow.

"It smells like daddy started breakfast," said Kitty as she deeply inhaled. "I can smell bacon."

Ruby inhaled. "Me too! Wet's go eat."

Kitty and Ruby entered the kitchen to see Matt standing in front of the stove. He was frying up some bacon. There was already a steaming bowl of scrambled eggs at the table, and the table was already set.

"It smells delicious," Kitty commented. She helped Ruby sit in her chair.

"The bacon is almost done," said Matt. "You can start on the eggs."

"I'll dish out Ruby's eggs, so they cool down," said Kitty. "But we'll all eat when the bacon is done."

The bacon was done a couple of minutes later. The Dillon family ate a breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon. Matt and Kitty had to tell Ruby to slow down twice. The little girl was definitely excited to go and get her momma a birthday present.

It was finally time for Matt and Ruby to leave. "Do you have your coin purse?" Matt asked Ruby.

"I awmost forgot," said Ruby.

Ruby went into her bedroom and grabbed her little coin purse. Inside the purse there were a few pennies and a nickel. She was going to use the money to "buy" her momma a present. Matt planned on paying for most of the present.

Ruby came back out to the parlor room with her coin purse. "Now I ready to go."

"Kitty, we'll be back in a couple of hours," said Matt.

"The two of you have a wonderful time," said Kitty. She gave each of them a kiss.

After Kitty finished getting herself ready for the day, she planned on doing some house cleaning. The first thing she wanted to do was mop the floors. This was the best time to do that because Ruby would not be underfoot.

Matt and Ruby reached town. He parked the buggy on a side street near Jonas' store. With the buggy securely parked, Matt and Ruby walked down to the store. Matt opened the door, and he and Ruby walked inside. Jonas hear the bell and looked up. He saw two customers.

"Hello, Marshall and Miss Ruby," said Wilbur Jonas. "How can I help you?"

"I gonna buy a present for momma," Ruby answered. "Her birthday is pretty soon."

"We're gonna go and look at yer jewelry," Matt elaborated.

"I'll be over there, if ya need me," said Jonas.

Matt took Ruby over to where Jonas kept the jewelry. It was not the biggest selection, but Jonas did have some nice pieces. Matt thought that Ruby could pick out a pair of earrings for Kitty. He planned on getting Kitty a new necklace. They reached the jewelry display, and Matt lifted Ruby up, so she could see.

"I thought it would be a good idea for you to buy momma a new pair of earrings," said Matt. "What do you think?"

"I wike that idea," said Ruby. She studied the earrings for several minutes before seeing a pair she liked. "I wanna buy those for momma, the pink ones." Ruby pointed to dangly silver earrings with a pink glass stone.

"Those are very pretty," said Matt. "Momma will love those. Now, I need to pick out a necklace."

Still holding Ruby, Matt went down to the necklaces. They both looked at the necklaces. While they were looking, Ruby saw one that caught her eye. It had pink stones like the earrings.

"Daddy, that neckwace wooks like the earrings I wanna give momma," said Ruby.

Matt saw the necklace Ruby was referring to. "It does. Maybe I should buy that one." Ruby nodded her head in agreement.

Matt let Jonas know what pieces of jewelry he wanted. Jonas opened the display case and took out the necklace and the earrings. He walked behind the counter and placed the pieces of jewelry on top.

"Let me do the figuring for the jewelry," said Jonas. He took his notepad and a pencil, wrote down the prices and began adding.

"We'll be paying for those separately," said Matt. "Ruby is going to pay for the earrings." He crouched down to Ruby's level. "Give me your money, sweetie."

Ruby gave Matt the money that was in her coin purse, eight cents. Matt took the money and put it on the counter. He discretely added money from his vest pocket to cover the rest of the cost. Jonas took the money. Matt also paid for the necklace.

"Mr. Jonas, could you please wrap those for us?" asked Matt.

"Sure thing, Marshall," said Jonas.

While Jonas was wrapping the necklace and earrings, Ruby wandered over by the door. The door opened, knocking her down. A man walked inside and saw that Ruby was in his path.

"Get outta the way, ya little brat," the man told Ruby.

Matt heard the man and walked over. "Is there a problem?"

"Oh this little brat is in my way," the man answered. He didn't realize he was talking about the Marshall's daughter.

Matt helped Ruby up. "Are you okay, honey?"

"Yes, daddy," Ruby replied as she brushed off the back of her dress.

The man then realized whom he had called a little brat. "Marshall, I didn't realize it was your daughter. I'm sorry."

"It shouldn't matter if she's my daughter or not. Ya don't need to be going around calling young children brats. She didn't do anything to you," said Matt. He picked Ruby up. "Come on, sweetheart. Daddy has the presents." Before leaving, Matt gave the man a glare.

"Daddy, how many days until momma's birthday," Ruby asked on the way home.

"Three days," Matt answered. "You have to keep momma's presents a secret for three days. You can't say anything? Can you do that?"

"Yes, daddy. I promise won't say anything to momma," promised Ruby.

A few days passed, and it was the morning of Kitty's birthday. Matt and Ruby were going to bake a cake for Kitty. Ruby wanted it to be a surprise. It was a Saturday, and that meant that the whole family would be home. Even though Ruby wanted it to be a surprise, Matt did tell Kitty. He told her for two reasons. First, he had to get Kitty out of the house. The second reason was probably the most important reason. Matt had never baked a cake. He wanted to go over the recipe with Kitty. Kitty thought it was sweet that Matt and Ruby were going to surprise her with a cake and promised to act surprised.

"Bess asked me to have tea with her," said Kitty. "I'm gonna go over there. I'll be gone for a few hours." She winked at Matt.

"Momma's gone," said Matt. "We can bake the cake now."

"Yay!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Let's get started," said Matt. He grabbed the recipe.

"Daddy, I need my apron on," said Ruby.

"Sorry, I forgot," said Matt. He got Ruby's apron from behind the kitchen door. He put it on her and tied it in the back.

"Daddy, you can wear momma's apron," Ruby giggled.

"I think daddy's too big for momma's apron," Matt responded.

Kitty told Matt she would have the needed ingredients, measuring spoons, and measuring cups in the cupboard. Matt took everything out and put them on the table. By this time, Ruby was already kneeling on a chair, waiting to get started. Matt read the recipe and followed the directions. Ruby told him when momma would let her stir. The batter was all mixed, and Matt poured it into the prepared cake pan.

"I sure hope this cake turns out," said Matt as he put the empty batter bowl on the table.

"Momma said if the batter tastes good, then the cake is gonna probwy taste good," said Ruby. She swiped her finger on the side of the bowl and put her finger in her mouth. "The batter is good."

"Well, I guess that's a good sign," said Matt. "I'll put the cake in the oven. Stand back. I don't want you to get burnt." Matt put the cake pan in the oven. "It has to be baked for thirty minutes." He looked at the clock. That meant the cake would be ready at half past eleven.

Thirty minutes passed and Matt checked to see if the cake was done. Kitty told him how to do it. According to what Kitty said, the cake was done. Matt followed Kitty's instructions on how to remove the cake from the pan. He and Ruby were both pleased with the results. Matt told Ruby they would put frosting on it when it was cooled. Matt cleaned everything up.

An hour later Kitty returned home. She arrived just as Matt and Ruby finished frosting the cake. Ruby heard her momma come home and ran into the parlor.

"Momma!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Come in the kitchen me 'n daddy have a surprise for you!"

"I can't wait to see what it is," said Kitty. She followed Ruby into the kitchen.

"Surprise!" Ruby yelled, pointing to the cake. "We made you a cake. Happy birthday, momma."

"This is a great surprise," said Kitty. "The cake looks delicious."

"Wet's eat it now and see," said Ruby.

"We'll eat it tonight when Grandpa Doc and Uncle Festus come over," said Matt. Doc and Festus were coming over for supper to celebrate Kitty's birthday with her.

That evening the Dillons had supper with Doc and Festus. Since it was Kitty's birthday, Doc insisted that he bring the food from Delmonico's. He brought chicken and dumplings. When everyone had their fill of the chicken and dumplings, the cake was brought to the table.

"Why, that there cake looks mighty good," said Festus.

"Me 'n daddy made it," Ruby proudly said.

Doc pulled on his ear and swiped his mustache. "Really? We'll have ta see how good it tastes."

A candle was put in the cake. Matt lit the candle and placed the cake in front of Kitty. Kitty made a wish and blew out the candle. She really didn't have to make a wish. Kitty already had everything she ever wanted. The cake was very tasty. Matt was pleased for both his sake and Ruby's sake, but more for Ruby's sake. He didn't want Ruby to be upset because the cake they made for her momma tasted badly.

When it came time for the presents, Ruby gave her present to Kitty. Kitty opened the small box and saw the earrings. A smile spread across Kitty's face. This made Ruby proud.

"Ruby, these are beautiful," Kitty gushed.

"I picked them out aww by mysowf and paid for 'em with my money," said Ruby with pride in her voice.

"Yes she did," Matt confirmed. "Here honey." Matt gave Kitty his gift.

Kitty opened the box and saw the necklace. She noticed the necklace and earrings matched. "Oh, Matt. This is gorgeous. Thank you so much."

"You are welcome. Ruby helped pick it out," said Matt.

"I love the necklace, the earrings, and both of you," said Kitty.

Doc and Festus stayed for another hour before leaving. During their visit, Festus told Ruby that her birthday was next. He failed to tell her she still had to wait a little while. Ruby thought her birthday was the next day.

"Are ya sure my birthday isn't tomorrow?" Ruby asked as she was being tucked in. "Unca Festus said my birthday was next."

"Your birthday is the next birthday, but it's not tomorrow," said Matt.

"Maybe you can't 'member my birthday," Ruby suggested.

"Trust us. We can remember your birthday," said Kitty. "You came out of my tummy on April twenty-second. Grandpa Doc and daddy were both there."

"How many sleeps before my birthday?" asked Ruby. "This many?" She held up both of her hands.

"A lot more sleeps than that," Matt replied. "Don't worry. Your birthday will be here before you know it. Now it's time to go to sleep."

Matt and Kitty gave Ruby a kiss and left her room. They walked back out into the parlor, so Kitty could get her necklace and earrings and Matt could make sure the doors and windows were all locked. After Kitty had her new jewelry and Matt checked everything, they retreated to their bedroom.

Kitty placed the earrings and necklace on her vanity table. When she did, Kitty noticed the ring on her finger that Matt gave her for her birthday almost fifteen years ago. She loved that ring and still wore it. However, she moved it from her left ring finger to her right ring finger. Her left ring finger now housed her wedding ring.

Matt walked up to Kitty and turned her, so she was facing him. "Sweetheart, I hope you had a wonderful birthday."

"How could I not?" asked Kitty. "I got to spend it with the people I love most. I didn't even have to make a wish tonight. I already have everything I've ever dreamed of."

Matt gave Kitty a smile he reserved only for Kitty. He leaned down and gave her a deep and loving kiss. They would continue Kitty's birthday with their own private celebration.

The End

*Author's note: I've written more stories than I normally would in a short time period. However, I wanted to honor Amanda Blake's birthday. And with a four day weekend, I had time to write two different stories.