Francisco woke up with a tear. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a gunny sack and a beret. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the attic was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like battleship and rummy. His dad was planning to make plenty of macaroni and cheese and cinnamon toast for everyone. Francisco would try to blow out all nineteen candles on the mauve and violet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Francisco would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a carrot! He hoped it would be a broken carrot. His friend Roberta had said she would give him an egg shell, and his sister-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the screwdriver she gave him last year. Francisco could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a downpour was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his gunny sack. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the ridge. He would have to wear a Hawaiian shirt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his beret.
He cantered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like coconut. His dad was standing there with a food processor in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with an air kiss.
"Hi Daddy!" Francisco replied madly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the macaroni and cheese," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra lemon juice. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Francisco replied ruefully. "Do we have the cinnamon toast ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his father replied anxiously. "It only has to roast for sixty minutes."
"Okay," Francisco replied lickety-split. "I'm gonna go to the attic."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ramen noodles in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the attic first?" he begged.
"It looks just like it always does," his father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Francisco responded, as he sat down to his ramen noodles. "Let's hang lots of scarlet balloons and cover the dining table and the four-poster bed with olive green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father busily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Nettie Friedman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a whisk."
"Beats me," Francisco responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a curtsey. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."