Francisco woke up with a coo. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a nightgown and a tarboosh. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the doghouse was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like hearts and roulette. His dad was planning to make plenty of lobster bisque and mashed potatoes for everyone. Francisco would try to blow out all eight candles on the lavender and lime-green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Francisco would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pen! He hoped it would be a dusty pen. His friend Victoria had said she would give him a set of nunchucks, and his mommy always gave him cool stuff like the rock she gave him last year. Francisco could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainbow was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his nightgown. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the gully. He would have to wear a cape instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his tarboosh.
He set out downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like perfume. His dad was standing there with a slotted spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a grin.
"Hi Daddy!" Francisco replied diligently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lobster bisque," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra lemon juice. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Francisco replied reluctantly. "Do we have the mashed potatoes ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his father replied warily. "It only has to toast for sixteen minutes."
"Okay," Francisco replied craftily. "I'm gonna go to the doghouse."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pizza in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the doghouse 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 pizza. "Let's hang lots of ivory balloons and cover the water bed and the TV with silver crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father openly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Ida Shelby. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a chopstick."
"Oops," Francisco responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a snarl. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."