Francisco woke up with a flush. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a bib and a flak jacket. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the attic was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like Mother May I and marbles. His dad was planning to make plenty of tortillas and dirty rice for everyone. Francisco would try to blow out all sixteen candles on the olive drab and pea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Francisco would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a calling card! He hoped it would be a fresh calling card. His friend Shelly had said she would give him a blanket, and his sister-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the garden hose she gave him last year. Francisco could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot, sunny day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his bib. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the hillside. He would have to wear a big grin instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his flak jacket.
He rushed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a bakery. His dad was standing there with a spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a smack.
"Hi Daddy!" Francisco replied stupidly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the tortillas," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra butter. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Francisco replied blissfully. "Do we have the dirty rice ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," his father replied slowly. "It only has to braise for twenty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Francisco replied strictly. "I'm gonna go to the attic."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fried eggs 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 fried eggs. "Let's hang lots of emerald green balloons and cover the china hutch and the dresser with green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father intensely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Maybie Clooney. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dull knife."
"Kapow," Francisco responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a raised eyebrow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."