René woke up with a snarl. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a tank top and a bonnet. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the pool room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-six of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like red rover and battleship. His dad was planning to make plenty of beans and tofu for everyone. René would try to blow out all twenty-one candles on the hot pink and pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, René would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pair of fuzzy dice! He hoped it would be an aromatic pair of fuzzy dice. His friend Nicole had said she would give him a pair of dice, and his mother-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the bat she gave him last year. René could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drizzle was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his tank top. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the bog. He would have to wear a pair of knickers instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his bonnet.
He hobbled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cigars. His dad was standing there with a ladle in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a blush.
"Hi Daddy!" René replied happily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the beans," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra green bell peppers. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," René replied viciously. "Do we have the tofu ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his father replied rapidly. "It only has to deep fry for fifty minutes."
"Okay," René replied gently. "I'm gonna go to the pool room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some country glazed ham in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the pool room 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," René responded, as he sat down to his country glazed ham. "Let's hang lots of rose balloons and cover the bookcase and the hope chest with silver crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father gingerly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Melanie Wapner. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a melon baller."
"So sure," René responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a wrinkled nose. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."