Abel woke up with a smile. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a suit and a tailcoat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the dining room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited one of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like chess and dodge ball. His dad was planning to make plenty of sushi and chicken chow mein for everyone. Abel would try to blow out all thirty-three candles on the green and teal cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Abel would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a teddy bear! He hoped it would be a curved teddy bear. His friend Martina had said she would give him a bottle, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the football she gave him last year. Abel could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a windstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his suit. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the circus tent. He would have to wear a pair of toe shoes instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his tailcoat.
He careened downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cherry blossoms. His dad was standing there with a paring knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a woof.
"Hi Daddy!" Abel replied lightly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the sushi," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra Tabasco sauce. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Abel replied solemnly. "Do we have the chicken chow mein ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his father replied reluctantly. "It only has to arrange for twenty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Abel replied uneasily. "I'm gonna go to the dining room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some beef bouillon in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dining room 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," Abel responded, as he sat down to his beef bouillon. "Let's hang lots of tan balloons and cover the rocking chair and the stairway with pea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father deftly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Bettie Lou Stringer. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dull knife."
"Omigosh," Abel responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a snuffle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."