Emile woke up with a snicker. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a parka and a pair of handcuffs. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twelve of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like Rummy and jump rope. His mom was planning to make plenty of French fries and beans for everyone. Emile would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the jade and lavender cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Emile would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a coupon! He hoped it would be a bent coupon. His friend Maximilian had said he would give him a paperclip, and his fiancée always gave him cool stuff like the can of soup she gave him last year. Emile could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a thunderstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his parka. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the housing development. He would have to wear a pair of cycling shorts instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of handcuffs.
He made a beeline downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like toast. His mom was standing there with a piece of cheesecloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a finger gun.
"Hi Mommy!" Emile replied anxiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the French fries," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra clam juice. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Emile replied delicately. "Do we have the beans ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his mother replied sheepishly. "It only has to sauté for fifty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Emile replied urgently. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cabbage rolls in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the bathroom first?" he begged.
"It looks just like it always does," his mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Emile responded, as he sat down to his cabbage rolls. "Let's hang lots of olive drab balloons and cover the overstuffed chair and the rocking chair with striped crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother recklessly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Gillian Tannenbaum. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a blender."
"I've had it," Emile responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a caress. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."