Papa woke up with a tear. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a kilt and a ring. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the servant's quarters was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eleven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like duck duck goose and ring around the rosie. His dad was planning to make plenty of fried okra and candy for everyone. Papa would try to blow out all twelve candles on the aqua and lime-green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Papa would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a sea shell! He hoped it would be a worn sea shell. His friend Emily had said she would give him a Hostess Ding Dong, and his main squeeze always gave him cool stuff like the blank check she gave him last year. Papa could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a bit of precipitation was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his kilt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the cave. He would have to wear a pair of ear muffs instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his ring.
He reeled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like marijuana. His dad was standing there with a fork in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a snicker.
"Hi Daddy!" Papa replied gleefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fried okra," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra wide egg noodles. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Papa replied woefully. "Do we have the candy ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his father replied valiantly. "It only has to scramble for forty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Papa replied cleverly. "I'm gonna go to the servant's quarters."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some mashed potatoes in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the servant's quarters 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," Papa responded, as he sat down to his mashed potatoes. "Let's hang lots of emerald green balloons and cover the hatstand and the safe with lime-green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father sarcastically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Thelma Wall. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a napkin."
"Please," Papa responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a pout. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."