It took several days to drive out of Argentina, and even more to get out of Paraguay. When we finally reached Brazil it was Angus' birthday. He wasn't too thrilled at the idea of getting older, said he was fossil enough already.

We celebrated his 'fossilness' by taking him to a restaurant. It was busy, but not crowded. But because we had such a large group we had to wait for two adjacent tables to be clear. Music played, and the whole place was filled with colorful decorations.

I sat on the inside end of the bench and Angus sat beside me. "Uh...how's this supposed to work?" he asked. I looked over to see had three spoons wrapped up in his napkin.

"Just order a lot of soup," I smiled.

"I'm getting so old all I can eat is soup."

"Here's an extra, mate," Cliff said handing him a spare. "And you're younger than all of us."

"What about-"

"Hannah doesn't count."

"Yeah Angus, you're the baby of the group!" Malcolm called from the next table.

"Oh, so I'm a baby now am I?"

"Don't drop your crayons Ang, you'll never reach them on the floor!" Phil shouted.

"Don't make fun of a man on his birthday!" Angus leaned back in his spot. His hand reached for his fork and tapped against his watercup. I joined him with my own fork and eventually we had a fork fight. Cliff took his butter knife and joined in. But then his knife got stuck in Angus' fork and they had to call for new ones.

While we were eating, I noticed a brown lump on Angus' shoe. It was furry and chewing on something. How do you tell a man he's got a hungry hairball on his foot? A naked tail swung out and whipped his ankle. Angus shook his foot but it didn't let go. The creature turned out to be a mouse chewing on his shoelaces. He and Cliff were so wrapped up in conversation that I didn't want to interrupt, and I wasn't sure Angus should find out about this.

Minute by agonizing minute, my body slid off the bench and under the table. They must not have noticed my shrinkage, or they didn't want to ask. I saw the mouse sniffing Angus' pants. I had to be careful, that mouse could have been anywhere. But no place on earth would be as bad as where this mouse was going.

Its tiny paws scrambled into his pants and up his leg. I tried to grab it but I don't think Angus would appreciate that. And of course the mouse just had to head in 'that' direction. Angus' leg reflexed a little and I knew that mouse was getting a treat. I froze in my spot as Angus looked under the table. His eyes widened when he saw me.

"It's not me, I swear!" I whispered.

"What the hell are you..."

"You got a little-friend in your pants," I pointed.

"What?"

"Just-" I shooed him away while I avoided Cliff's swinging feet. Angus resumed talking with Cliff, the latter not having noticed he left.

Angus listened to Cliff's talking but couldn't really focus with the nibbling. Hannah wasn't reaching down there to take it out, so it was all up to him. Without taking his eyes off his friend, he reached down to his zipper and pulled it down.

Man this thing is fast. The mouse ran all across his pelvis and Angus was groping himself up trying to grab it. Cliff's face turned grossed out within seconds.

"Angus? I hate to be so upfront about things like this but-dammit mate, what the fuck are you doin'?"

"It's not what it looks like," he winced as the mouse bit his finger. "Feisty little bugger," he said to himself. Cliff raised an eyebrow.

"If it's not what it looks like, is it-what it feels like?"

"More or less." Angus glanced upward finally grasping the mouse. "Ah, got it."

"Jesus Ang, don't pull it out!" Cliff grabbed a menu and covered Angus.

"Calm down, it's just a mouse." Angus held up the rodent in his fist.

"Oh." Both men then started gagging at it and couldn't find a place to get rid of it. A waiter holding a platter and dome lid was next to him talking to the people behind them. Making sure the coast was clear, he lifted the dome and slid the mouse inside.

While Angus fiddled with his furry gentleman caller, I snuck out from underneath the table and made my way to the entrance. The hostess stood greeting people and I got her attention. I felt bad for Angus having a rip off birthday, so I wanted to make it up to him. By surprise.

"Excuse me, my friend is here, it's his birthday today. I was wondering if you could give him a visit."

"Sure, how old is he turning?" she asked.

"Forty two." She smiled.

"No problema." She called someone over and whispered in his ear. I went back to my table to see Angus pulling up his zipper and Cliff with his head in his hands.

"We didn't do anything!" they both shouted when they saw me. Angus cleared his throat and moved over so I could get in my spot again.

About ten minutes later, a crowd of staff members came up to our table with a giant cake. "¡Feliz cumpleaños!" Someone put a party hat on Angus' head while another blew a party favor. Then God so help me, a clown came out with a balloon.

"What's the cake say?" Cliff asked. Angus centered the cake so we could all look. The other table gathered around us as well. The cake was white with a cartoon firetruck on it. 'You're a big boy now!' was written in blue frosting. I looked at the hostess who looked at me in confusion.

"I thought you said he was two." Angus looked over at me and I blushed.

"I said he was forty two!" The clown took off his red rubber nose and walked out. The staff members apologized and had a good laugh. Angus put his head on the table laughing, one hand resting on mine.

Not too long after, someone on the other end of the room screamed. Staff members rushed over and the young customer was complaining of a mouse in her food. We exchanged glances and ran out the door not wanting to see the end results. Angus only ran back inside to grab his free birthday cake.

We laughed the whole walk back to the hotel. Angus held the cake in one hand, my hand in the other. "This was your idea?"

"I wanted to surprise you."

"You sure did."

"You're a big boy now Angus!" Phil laughed.

"It's even got a little fire engine!" Malcolm said. "By the way, what was the big deal about the mouse?" We told everyone else what had happened moments prior, and that got them all going again. Phil walked up and slapped Angus on the back.

"Bet that mouse knew it was your birthday."