Anthony woke up with a grin. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a cape and a cat suit. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the boudoir 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 dodge ball and hopscotch. His dad was planning to make plenty of spaghetti and lime sherbet for everyone. Anthony would try to blow out all four candles on the maroon and teal cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Anthony would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a can of beer! He hoped it would be a greasy can of beer. His friend Daisy had said she would give him a curling iron, and his mom always gave him cool stuff like the umbrella she gave him last year. Anthony could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his cape. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the forest. He would have to wear a tutu instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his cat suit.
He ambled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like curry. His dad was standing there with a pair of chopsticks in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a sniff.
"Hi Daddy!" Anthony replied roughly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the spaghetti," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra salsa. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Anthony replied kindly. "Do we have the lime sherbet ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his father replied miserably. "It only has to spread into container for thirty minutes."
"Okay," Anthony replied lamely. "I'm gonna go to the boudoir."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some scrambled eggs in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the boudoir 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," Anthony responded, as he sat down to his scrambled eggs. "Let's hang lots of chartreuse balloons and cover the workbench and the piano with pea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father openly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Shirley Xu. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a garlic press."
"Totally rad," Anthony responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with an air kiss. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."