Octavio woke up with a sneer. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a bonnet and a pair of sweatpants. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fifteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like crazy eights and jump rope. His dad was planning to make plenty of pancakes and tacos for everyone. Octavio would try to blow out all four candles on the olive green and camouflage cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Octavio would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Bunsen burner! He hoped it would be a stolen Bunsen burner. His friend Julia had said she would give him a flashlight, and his main squeeze always gave him cool stuff like the coffee pot she gave him last year. Octavio could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hurricane was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his bonnet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the meadow. He would have to wear a pith helmet instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of sweatpants.
He dashed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like gardenias. His dad was standing there with an electric paint mixer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a twitch.
"Hi Daddy!" Octavio replied oddly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pancakes," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra pine nuts. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Octavio replied effortlessly. "Do we have the tacos ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his father replied ferociously. "It only has to press for sixty minutes."
"Okay," Octavio replied irritably. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some clam chowder in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the salon 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," Octavio responded, as he sat down to his clam chowder. "Let's hang lots of periwinkle balloons and cover the hope chest and the bed with red crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father happily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Jordan Van Bloom. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a sharp knife."
"Shame," Octavio responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a smile. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."