Charles woke up with a gasp. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a winter coat and a uniform. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the master bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like bridge and Monopoly. His dad was planning to make plenty of fish and chips and fried eggs for everyone. Charles would try to blow out all twenty-eight candles on the jet black and jade cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Charles would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a necklace! He hoped it would be a mysterious necklace. His friend Pallavi had said she would give him a rock, and his main squeeze always gave him cool stuff like the pop bottle she gave him last year. Charles could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a bit of precipitation was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his winter coat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the outback. He would have to wear a bikini instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his uniform.
He scooted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like oregano. His dad was standing there with a paring knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a gurgle.
"Hi Daddy!" Charles replied brightly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fish and chips," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra graham crackers. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Charles replied innocently. "Do we have the fried eggs ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," his father replied sharply. "It only has to spoon into container for thirty-two minutes."
"Okay," Charles replied sadly. "I'm gonna go to the master bathroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cherries jubilee in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the master bathroom 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," Charles responded, as he sat down to his cherries jubilee. "Let's hang lots of sparkly balloons and cover the umbrella stand and the display case with orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father slyly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Lillian Zimmerman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a ladle."
"Yipes," Charles responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a beam. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."