It’s A Party

A cake, a gift and a big surprise!

Jill’s sister, Ann, burst out of the house the instant their car rolled into the driveway.


She sprinted toward them, waving her arms.


“Did you bring it?”


Jill climbed out of the passenger seat and sighed. “Of course we brought it.”


The words had barely left her mouth when doubt crept across her face.


She slowly turned toward her husband.


“Frank… did you put it in the trunk, dear?”


Frank’s eyes widened.


“Oh, no. You’re not pinning this on me.”


“What do you mean?”


“You were the last one out of the house. You should have grabbed it.”


“I thought you grabbed it!”


“I thought you grabbed it!”


Ann stared at them in horror.


“Wait. Are you telling me you don’t have the cake?”


Silence.


A terrible, dreadful silence.


Inside the house, fifty relatives were gathering to celebrate Mom and Dad’s fiftieth wedding anniversary. The guests were arriving. The decorations were up. Someone had already started a slideshow. The only thing missing was the enormous three-tier cake.


“Well,” Ann said through clenched teeth, “at least you remembered the gift we all chipped in to buy.”


Jill and Frank looked at each other.


Neither spoke.


Neither blinked.


Then, in perfect unison, they said:


“Oops.”


Ann looked like she might actually explode.


“You forgot the cake AND the gift?”


“We remembered the balloons,” Frank offered weakly.


“The balloons?”


“Most of them.”


“Most?”


Frank opened the trunk.


Three balloons floated out.


One immediately popped.


Another escaped into the sky.


The third slowly deflated and landed on the driveway.


At that exact moment, their parents stepped outside.


Dad looked around.


“Where’s the cake?”


Mom smiled.


“And where’s our gift?”


Frank cleared his throat.


“Funny story…”