Jude woke up with a wag of the finger. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of trousers and a pair of culottes. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the oubliette was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like Candy Land and charades. His mom was planning to make plenty of falafel and fried okra for everyone. Jude would try to blow out all thirty-three candles on the azure and yellow cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jude would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a magnifying glass! He hoped it would be a petite magnifying glass. His friend Walt had said he would give him a spoon, and his grandpa always gave him cool stuff like the contract she gave him last year. Jude could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pelting rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of trousers. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the path. He would have to wear a suit instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of culottes.
He made a beeline downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Chanel No. 5. His mom was standing there with a slotted spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a shiver.
"Hi Mommy!" Jude replied properly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the falafel," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra peanuts. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jude replied accidentally. "Do we have the fried okra ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his mother replied ferociously. "It only has to sear outside for twenty-five minutes."
"Okay," Jude replied fervently. "I'm gonna go to the oubliette."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some strawberry shortcake 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 mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Jude responded, as he sat down to his strawberry shortcake. "Let's hang lots of lavender balloons and cover the china cabinet and the display case with olive green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother truculently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Cindy Glidden. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cheesecloth."
"Gotta love it," Jude responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a grin. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."