Eubie woke up with a flinch. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of galoshes and a pair of shoes. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the front porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like leapfrog and battleship. His dad was planning to make plenty of cookies and biscuits and gravy for everyone. Eubie would try to blow out all nine candles on the violet and olive drab cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Eubie would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a houseplant! He hoped it would be a leather houseplant. His friend Jennessa had said she would give him a spool of thread, and his girlfriend always gave him cool stuff like the advertisement she gave him last year. Eubie could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dense fog was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of galoshes. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the plain. He would have to wear a G-string instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of shoes.
He flounced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like gingerbread. His dad was standing there with an ice pick in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a pucker.
"Hi Daddy!" Eubie replied cunningly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cookies," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra kosher salt. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Eubie replied grimly. "Do we have the biscuits and gravy ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his father replied steadily. "It only has to freeze for eighty-two minutes."
"Okay," Eubie replied offhandedly. "I'm gonna go to the front porch."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some hash in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the front porch 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," Eubie responded, as he sat down to his hash. "Let's hang lots of aquamarine balloons and cover the bookcase and the crib with teal crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father happily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Juanita Dingwell. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an egg cutter."
"Banzai," Eubie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a chuckle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."