Let 'Em Eat Cake, part II

My parents' 50th wedding anniversary is today.  In addition to putting together a memory book of photos of their lives, I wanted to make a special cake. 

Mom laid down rules for the celebration, to which I *strictly* adhered.    They would allow me to take them out to dinner, but not to invite any of their friends.  I wanted to take them someplace nice, but Mom insisted on Famous Dave's.  Not that Famous Dave's isn't nice, mind you...but you know what I mean.  Okay, Famous Dave's it is, if that's what you really want. 

My plan was to make them a special cake, take it over there early and drop it off, and have the staff  bring it out when my folks and I were ready for dessert.  And mom suspected I would be up to something.  But here's where it got interesting.  I called the Famous Dave's nearest to me to make arrangements to pull this off, and they informed me they were closed for remodeling.  At first I was disappointed, but then I realized this could play into my plans quite well.  (I'm such a sneaky rat...)

I called the next-closest Famous Dave's, and made the arrangements for the cake idea with them.  They were happy to be in on the deal. 

ChinaBoi wanted to help make the cake layers.  This wasn't a box mix, unlike the last time when he was forced to make his own birthday cake.  Oh, no.  This was going to be a real 3-tier WEDDING CAKE, and it had to be made from the original Wilton recipe.  We started mixing and baking on Wednesday night for a Saturday dinner.  I showed Charlie how on the first batch of batter, and he made all the batter from there out.  Then he supervised while I decorated. 

When it was time to meet Mom & Dad at the Famous Dave's near me on Saturday, the boys and I drove out about 15 minutes early, parked in the vacant lot, and called my parents on their cell phone.  I made myself sound upset, explained that we had arrived early to get our names on the list, only to find a huge sign saying they were closed for renovations, but that Oldest Son had checked on his fancy smart phone and found that there was another Famous Dave's over in Laurel, how about we meet there instead?  Mom answered that they had left early, too, and were only about 3 minutes away, why don't we wait for them to arrive, and they'd follow us to the other one.  (She was suspicious about the re-direct and wanted to see this sign for herself.)

We cackled about how we'd pulled this off, and Mom's suspicions that I was up to something were totally allayed at that point.  They followed us out to the other restaurant, and we had a nice dinner.

They were a little put out after dinner when the waiter started clearing the table--including all the condiments--before even asking if we wanted dessert.  They felt like he was getting the table ready for turnover for the next guests already, since there was a line.  Just when Dad was about to say something, they brought the cake out on a cart, and the whole restaurant started clapping and whistling.  So we let 'em ALL eat cake.

Shame I wasn't allowed to invite any of their friends.  The cake was good.  But I'm a good girl, and I always do exactly what my mommy tells me to do...tee-hee.