Jude 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 badge and a burqa. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the outhouse 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 chess and croquet. His dad was planning to make plenty of cabbage rolls and strawberry shortcake for everyone. Jude would try to blow out all twenty candles on the emerald green and striped cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jude would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a brush! He hoped it would be a polka-dotted brush. His friend Samina had said she would give him a business card, and his grandfather always gave him cool stuff like the stuffed kitten she gave him last year. Jude 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 badge. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the backyard. He would have to wear a pair of bell-bottoms instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his burqa.
He staggered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like anise. His dad was standing there with a meat tenderizer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a squint.
"Hi Daddy!" Jude replied crazily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cabbage rolls," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra salmon. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jude replied crazily. "Do we have the strawberry shortcake ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," his father replied miserably. "It only has to boil for thirty-two minutes."
"Okay," Jude replied blindly. "I'm gonna go to the outhouse."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some shrimp in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the outhouse 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," Jude responded, as he sat down to his shrimp. "Let's hang lots of aqua balloons and cover the futon and the bathtub with golden crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father suspiciously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Hilda Dick. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a wooden spoon."
"Nice," Jude responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with an evil eye. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."