Baxter and his brothers celebrated their second birthday right this year. But this wasn’t just any party—it was alien themed, hosted by their eccentric (and very real) alien friend Larry, who’d promised to make it “the most intergalactically unforgettable experience in the galaxy.” Wink and Pocket, their sisters, had spent all morning helping Larry decorate: foil streamers, glowing meteor balloons, and glow-in-the-dark cow stickers plastered every wall. Reuben even helped Larry hang tiny paper UFOs from the ceiling fans, though several of them had already spun off and gently smacked Barry in the face.
As guests arrived—so many people who loved them, rats and neighborhood critters like Scooty Joon—Larry triggered the fog machine and dimmed the lights. “Commencing birthday protocol,” he announced in his buzzy translator voice, and a laser light show began, complete wiff sparkles, space sounds, and a hologram of Saturn doing a little dance. In the middle of it all, Fish squeaked in joy, pointing out the cheese-shaped craters on the projected moon. “This one’s Camembert Mare,” he whispered reverently, taking notes for his cheese map.
Suddenly, the cake creaked open, and a tractor beam—just a tiny one—shone down on the table. “Initiating cow obduction!” Larry chirped. From above, small cows descended slowly into the beam, mooing mechanically as they floated skyward. Wink clapped her paws in delight while Pocket chased after one of the cows, determined to save it from the “clutches of the cosmos.”
After the games, cake (glow-in-the-dark icing, of course), and a round of “Pin the Eye on the Alien,” Mom and Dad gathered everyone around the birthday ring of stars. One by one, each sibling shared something they loved about being part of the crew. Waffles, quiet for once, mumbled, “I like when we’re all together like this.” Reuben passed him a fizzy space soda without a word. Baxter looked around, grabbed Pockets hand, fur fluffed out from excitement and sugar, and smiled.
As the sun set over the hills and stars began to twinkle in the real sky, the crowd lit up their tiny souvenir “beam lights” and waved them in rhythm to a surprise encore performance: the boys singing “Fru Time, Wiff Cheese and Lub,” backed by Larry on space synthesizer. It was sparkly, weird, and absolutely perfect.
Everyone agreed it was the kind of party you’d only get to attend once in a lifetime—or maybe once every couple of lightyears.We hope eberyone had a good time!
