Joseph woke up with a snuffle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a bib and a cowboy hat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the foyer was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like pool and volleyball. His dad was planning to make plenty of enchiladas and egg drop soup for everyone. Joseph would try to blow out all three candles on the pink and silver cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Joseph would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a blanket! He hoped it would be a ridiculous blanket. His friend Annabelle had said she would give him a tennis racket, and his cousin always gave him cool stuff like the yo-yo she gave him last year. Joseph 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 bib. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the forest. He would have to wear a polo shirt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his cowboy hat.
He rushed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like dill pickles. His dad was standing there with a turkey baster in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a finger gun.
"Hi Daddy!" Joseph replied breathlessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the enchiladas," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra kiwis. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Joseph replied happily. "Do we have the egg drop soup ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his father replied offhandedly. "It only has to poach lightly for seventy-three minutes."
"Okay," Joseph replied sympathetically. "I'm gonna go to the foyer."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some mulligan stew in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the foyer 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," Joseph responded, as he sat down to his mulligan stew. "Let's hang lots of sparkly balloons and cover the bath mat and the counter with striped crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father boldly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Mindy Popp. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a napkin."
"Eeshk," Joseph 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."