Chapter 54 "Lucky Number 7" Ruby celebrates her seventh birthday. (Conclusion)

Matt and Kitty rode back to town in a companionable silence. When they reached town, Matt parked the wagon on a side street next to the Long Branch. Like usual, after getting down from the wagon, he helped Kitty down. "Last night before we went to bed you said you were gonna work in your office today 'n pick Ruby up after school. Is that still yer plan?"

"Yes," Kitty replied. "But I need to go to Jonas's store to buy balloons and streamers. Remember, Ruby wants a jail cell decorated for her birthday. I'll do that right after I buy the decorations."

"Alright," said Matt. "I'll see ya in a little bit." Kitty walked towards the general store and Matt walked towards the jail.

"Mornin', Matthew," Festus greeted as Matt entered the jail. "Dean from the land office stopped by 'n dropped off them thar papers. Said that they needed ta be tooked out ta the Remus farm."

Matt looked at the papers on the table and sighed. "Paul Remus is two months behind on his mortgage. I feel bad for these sodbusters. Last year's harvest was mediocre, 'n the winter was a harsh one. If he can't make some sort of payment, he 'n his wife are gonna be evicted."

Festus nodded his head. "I'm shore glad I ain't the one that has to deliver those papers."

"Yeah, consider yourself lucky," Matt stated. He left the jail, forgetting to tell Festus about Ruby's birthday plans and Kitty coming to decorate a jail cell.

Fifteen minutes after Matt rode off to the Remus farm, Kitty entered the jail with a small crate in her hands. Festus, who had been sitting at Matt's desk, stood up to take the crate from her. "Mornin', Mizz Kitty." He examined the contents of the crate and saw balloons and streamers. "What's this for?"

"Didn't Matt tell you?" asked Kitty. She looked around the jail. "By the way, where is Matt?"

"He had to ride out to the Remus farm," Festus replied. "Tell me what?"

Kitty's face held an amused look. "Matt told Ruby she could have whatever birthday celebration she wanted. She wants a jailhouse birthday."

Festus' amused look mirrored Kitty's. "Golly bill, I ain't one bit surprised that lil youngin wants her birthday here."

"She also wants a jail cell decorated in balloons and streamers," Kitty informed the hillman. "I was gonna have Matt help me. But since he's gone, do you wanna help?"

"I would love ta help ya," Festus replied.

Festus and Kitty set to work decorating the very first jail cell. They were a whirlwind of motion. Pink streamers were wrapped around the bars, while yellow balloons were tied on the bar that ran horizontal down the middle of the jail. There was a roll of paper in the crate. Kitty unrolled and laid it across the table out in the office. She went to Matt's desk and opened the top drawer. There was a pencil near the front. Kitty took the pencil and used to write "Happy Birthday, Ruby!" on the banner. She and Festus hung it up across the top of the jail cell.

Kitty and Festus stepped back to admire their work. Kitty nodded with approval. "I think it looks great. Ruby is gonna love it."

"This is the best this jail cell has ever been decorated for a birthday party," Festus stated.

Kitty tilted her head to the side and looked at Festus. "What are you comparing this to? When else has a jail cell been decorated for a birthday?"

Festus scratched his head. "Well none I reckon. What time is Ruby's party?"

"She's gonna have a small party with her friends at home," said Kitty. "We had to compromise that she couldn't have her friends at the jail, but she could have her parents, her grandpa, and her uncles. I planned on bringing supper over here from Delmonicos and the cake Ruby 'n I baked around half past five. Does that work for you?"

Festus was going to get free food. Of course it would work. "That there sounds like a mighty good plan."

"I have to get going," said Kitty. "I need to tell Doc and Newly the plan. I also have work to do in my office." Kitty left the jail. She informed both Doc and Newly of Ruby's birthday plan. Both men were amused, but not surprised about where Ruby wanted to celebrate her birthday.

Later that afternoon Kitty pulled the wagon of excited little girls onto their property. Ruby told them about the cupcakes, but not the party favors. She wanted those to be a surprise. They were looking forward to the cupcakes. "Momma, before we go inside, can I show my friends Rusty?" Ruby asked as Kitty unhooked the back of the wagon and each girl climbed down.

"Okay, but only for a little bit," said Kitty. "Meet me in the kitchen, when you're done."

"Come on!" Ruby instructed her friends as she ran towards the barn. The other girls ran after her. They were eager to see the pony.

Kitty walked into the kitchen and an idea struck. She had extra balloons and streamers in her reticule. While Ruby and her friends were outside, Kitty quickly blew up the balloons and tied them to each chair. She then wrapped the streamers around the light fixture hanging over the table. Now the kitchen looked festive for a birthday party. She placed the cupcakes in the middle of the table and waited for the birthday girl.

Ruby's party with her friends was a success. She didn't even mind that there weren't any presents. After eating the cupcakes, the girls enjoyed the sunny weather and played outside. Around four o'clock the girls were picked up. Before leaving, Ruby gave each of her friends their party favors. "This is a party favor. It's a thank you gift for coming to my party," she explained. The girls eagerly accepted the small bag tied with a pretty ribbon. Ruby waved goodbye as each of her friends left. Kitty was also out there.

Kitty took Ruby's hand and led her towards the house. "I think that was a great party. What do you think?"

"Oh yes," Ruby agreed. She suddenly stopped as a thought occurred to her. "Momma, I never made a paper chain to count down the days to my birthday."

Kitty could hear the disappointment in Ruby's voice. "I guess you didn't. That's probably because we had a busy weekend this past week. We dyed eggs on Saturday, and then it was Easter Sunday." Kitty could see that Ruby was still upset. She didn't want her daughter to be upset on her birthday. "But you know Daddy's birthday is about a month from now. We'll make sure you make a paper chain for him."

"Can I start it tomorrow?" asked Ruby. She wanted to make sure she didn't forget.

"Your daddy's birthday isn't for at least thirty days," Kitty pointed out. "I think that's too many chain links. You can wait." She and Ruby were about to go inside, when they saw Matt ride up.

"Daddy, what are you doing home?" Ruby questioned. "Didja forget about my jailhouse party?"

"Yeah, Matt, what are you doing home?" Kitty was just as curious. She had told him she and Ruby would meet him at the jail.

Matt gave his attention to Ruby. "I didn't forget about your jailhouse party," Matt assured Ruby. "I just wanted to make sure I have that special birthday ride with the birthday girl."

Ruby went over to her daddy and wrapped her arms around his waist. "You didn't say anything about my birthday ride with you on Buck. I was afraid you didn't say anything because I was getting too big to ride with you."

Matt lifted Ruby so he could look into her blue eyes. "Baby, yer not too big. It's been awhile, but Momma used to ride on Buck with me."

Ruby looked over at Kitty. "Really, Momma?"

"I sure did," Kitty confirmed. "You two enjoy your special ride. We'll leave for town when you get back."

With Ruby in one arm, Matt was effortlessly able to mount Buck. "You ready?" Ruby eagerly nodded her head. With a gentle squeeze of Buck's sides, the horse went into motion. While riding Ruby told Matt all about her party with her friends. Matt listened with a smile on his face. He wouldn't trade this time with her little girl for anything.

After returning from Ruby's birthday ride, the Dillons left for town. Kitty put Ruby's birthday cake in the back of the wagon, but near the front. Ruby was afraid the cake wouldn't survive the trip. Kitty tried to convince her that would make sure not to drive over bumps or ruts in the road, but Ruby wasn't convinced. It was finally decided that Ruby would ride in the back to make sure nothing happened to the cake.

They arrived in town, and Matt parked the wagon in front of the jail. He climbed down and lended a hand to help Kitty down. She walked to the back of the wagon and took the cake from Ruby, who stood up and was ready to jump out of the wagon. Matt, however, stopped her. "I would hate for you ta hurt yourself and miss your jailhouse party." He lifted her out of the wagon and set her down on the ground.

The Dillon trio stepped up onto the porch of the jail. Matt opened the door and ushered his girls inside. Ruby went in first. Her eyes lit up and a huge grin spread ear to ear when she saw the birthday banner and the decorated jail cell. "Happy Birthday!" Doc, Festus, and Newly rang out.

Kitty put the cake on Matt's desk and turned to Ruby. "What do you think?"

Ruby ran to the decorated jail cell and then back to the office. "I love it! This is exactly what I was hoping for." She saw the gifts in the jail cell. "Can I open my presents now?"

"We need to eat supper first," Kitty replied. "After that you can open gifts, and then we'll have some cake."

The table in the office had been set with bowls, cups, and spoons borrowed from Delmonico's. In the middle of the table was a big pot of chicken noodle soup from Delmonico's. Doc had agreed to pick up the soup. Once the last spoonful of soup was eaten, everyone gathered in the decorated jail cell to watch Ruby open her gifts. Ruby insisted she sit on the cot. Kitty wasn't too keen on Ruby sitting on a cot that more than likely wasn't the cleanest. So both Kitty and Ruby would be happy, Matt placed a clean blanket on the cot for Ruby to sit on. The adults each brought a chair from the office to sit on. Matt also grabbed the keys off the hook. He wasn't going to take any chances of them accidentally getting locked in.

"Alright, what gift do you want to open first?" asked Kitty.

Ruby pointed to a larger object leaning against the wall. It had caught her attention earlier. "That one."

Festus spoke up. "If yer gonna open that one, ya gotta open this one with it." Festus handed Ruby a small wrapped gift. She opened that first.

"A slingshot!" she happily shouted.

"I'm not even surprised you gave her a slingshot, considering you gave her a level last year," Doc commented as he tugged on his ear. "You better hope she doesn't shoot that thing at things she shouldn't be shooting at."

Newly then spoke up. "That's where the big gift comes into play. Go ahead and pull the cloth off that, Miss Ruby." Ruby pulled off the cloth and revealed a wooden board with a target and bullseye carved on it. "I made that for her to shoot her slingshot at."

"I love it!" Ruby declared. "Let's open some more."

Doc found his gift and handed it to Ruby. "Happy birthday, little darlin'." Ruby took the gift and tore off the paper. It was the game Jackstraws.

Ruby shook the canister of wooden sticks. "This looks like a game, but I've never played it before."

"It's called Jackstraws. The object of the game is to remove a stick from the pile when it's your turn, without moving other sticks. If you move another stick, your turn is over," Doc explained. "Having skilled hands like a surgeon is an advantage while playing this game."

"That means you'll be good at this game, Grandpa Doc," Ruby stated. She had one more gift to open. It was the gift from her parents.

Kitty stood up, got the gift from her and Matt, and handed it to Ruby. "Happy birthday, sweetie.

Ruby took the gift and unwrapped it. Her gift from her parents was a beautiful lace parasol. "My very own parasol! I love it! It's so beautiful." Ruby opened the parasol and twirled it around. "Now me 'n Momma can walk through town with our parasols."

"I'm glad you love it," said Kitty. She was afraid that Ruby might not appreciate a parasol. Kitty didn't mind that Ruby enjoyed doing things that most little boys did. But at the same time she wanted to make sure that Ruby still enjoyed things that a little girl would enjoy.

"You 'n Momma will look absolutely beautiful walking down Front Street with your parasols," Matt stated. "This has been a wonderful party, but I'm afraid it has to come to an end. We need to make the jail cell back into a regular jail cell."

"This was a great birthday," said Ruby. "Thank you! Next year my party is gonna be at the Long Branch, and you are all invited."

Matt and Kitty looked at each other, Festus and Newly smiled at Ruby's declaration and her parents' facial expressions, and Doc swiped his hand over his mustache. He knew that next year they would be in the Long Branch celebrating Ruby's eighth birthday.

The end of this story