Adam woke up with a finger gun. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a shawl and a pair of toe shoes. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the oubliette was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like dominos and croquet. His dad was planning to make plenty of wienerschnitzel and sauerkraut for everyone. Adam would try to blow out all twenty-nine candles on the salmon and pea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Adam would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pumpkin! He hoped it would be a rancid pumpkin. His friend Chloe had said she would give him a dollhouse, and his mommy always gave him cool stuff like the smart phone she gave him last year. Adam could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a gale was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his shawl. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the arroyo. He would have to wear a Stetson hat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of toe shoes.
He skipped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like smoke. His dad was standing there with a knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a chuckle.
"Hi Daddy!" Adam replied hastily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the wienerschnitzel," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra poppy seeds. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Adam replied crossly. "Do we have the sauerkraut ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his father replied admiringly. "It only has to fry sharply in modern skillet for thirty-five minutes."
"Okay," Adam replied threateningly. "I'm gonna go to the oubliette."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some smoked salmon in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the oubliette 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," Adam responded, as he sat down to his smoked salmon. "Let's hang lots of terra cotta balloons and cover the hatstand and the counter with black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father softly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Chris Deutsch. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an egg cutter."
"Dang it," Adam responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a laugh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."