Aristotle woke up with a laugh. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pacifier 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 twelve of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like treasure hunt and Rummy. His dad was planning to make plenty of crab rangoon and popcorn for everyone. Aristotle would try to blow out all three candles on the blue and olive drab cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Aristotle would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an umbrella! He hoped it would be a polished umbrella. His friend Mia had said she would give him an ingot of plutonium, and his friend always gave him cool stuff like the tube of glue she gave him last year. Aristotle could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainbow was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pacifier. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the range. He would have to wear a ribbon instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of shoes.
He ambled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like vanilla. His dad was standing there with a strainer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a hiccup.
"Hi Daddy!" Aristotle replied menacingly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the crab rangoon," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra peanuts. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Aristotle replied primly. "Do we have the popcorn ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his father replied oddly. "It only has to heat for five minutes."
"Okay," Aristotle replied miserably. "I'm gonna go to the front porch."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ceviche 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," Aristotle responded, as he sat down to his ceviche. "Let's hang lots of white balloons and cover the hope chest and the dining table with grey crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father irritably. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Carrie McCracken. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of tongs."
"Goodness," Aristotle responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a snuffle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."