Geraldo woke up with a kiss. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of handcuffs and a pair of overalls. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the study was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like red rover and tennis. His dad was planning to make plenty of refried beans and shrimp for everyone. Geraldo would try to blow out all twenty-nine candles on the magenta and sparkly cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Geraldo would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a file folder! He hoped it would be a valuable file folder. His friend Lori had said she would give him an etching, and his sister always gave him cool stuff like the fire hose she gave him last year. Geraldo could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pall of doom was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of handcuffs. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the ridge. He would have to wear a pair of trousers instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of overalls.
He climbed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a locker room. His dad was standing there with an ice pick in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a sniffle.
"Hi Daddy!" Geraldo replied glibly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the refried beans," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra seedless grapes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Geraldo replied hysterically. "Do we have the shrimp ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his father replied reluctantly. "It only has to heat for seventy-four minutes."
"Okay," Geraldo replied frenetically. "I'm gonna go to the study."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some prune pudding in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the study 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," Geraldo responded, as he sat down to his prune pudding. "Let's hang lots of pink balloons and cover the overstuffed chair and the bench with aquamarine crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father automatically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Krista Powers. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cookie cutter."
"No way," Geraldo responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a coo. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."