Tommy woke up with a power fist. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in an Armani suit and a cloak. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the lounge was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fifteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like Monopoly and baseball. His dad was planning to make plenty of hamburgers and cherries jubilee for everyone. Tommy would try to blow out all five candles on the violet and fuchsia cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Tommy would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a fish bowl! He hoped it would be a wet fish bowl. His friend Leslie had said she would give him a hip flask, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the pair of pliers she gave him last year. Tommy 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 Armani suit. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the village. He would have to wear a poodle skirt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his cloak.
He ran downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like an ashtray. His dad was standing there with an egg cutter in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a shiver.
"Hi Daddy!" Tommy replied greedily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the hamburgers," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra habañero peppers. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Tommy replied reluctantly. "Do we have the cherries jubilee ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his father replied testily. "It only has to slow cook for fifty-three minutes."
"Okay," Tommy replied obediently. "I'm gonna go to the lounge."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some catfish stew in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the lounge 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," Tommy responded, as he sat down to his catfish stew. "Let's hang lots of purple balloons and cover the nightstand and the bath mat with pea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father unexpectedly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Wendy Blevins. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a paring knife."
"Shazam," Tommy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a curtsey. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."