Antonio woke up with a bound. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a bodysuit and a veil. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like Parcheesi and duck duck goose. His dad was planning to make plenty of oyster on the half-shell and banana split for everyone. Antonio would try to blow out all fifteen candles on the polka dotted and yellow cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Antonio would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a beach ball! He hoped it would be a luxurious beach ball. His friend Louise had said she would give him a clipboard, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the paper airplane she gave him last year. Antonio could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a gale was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his bodysuit. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the creek. He would have to wear a false beard instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his veil.
He flew downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like fine perfume. His dad was standing there with a Sham-Wow! in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a shout.
"Hi Daddy!" Antonio replied wildly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the oyster on the half-shell," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra fava beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Antonio replied sagely. "Do we have the banana split ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his father replied haughtily. "It only has to blend for seventy-nine minutes."
"Okay," Antonio replied demurely. "I'm gonna go to the closet."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some oatmeal in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the closet 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," Antonio responded, as he sat down to his oatmeal. "Let's hang lots of camouflage balloons and cover the computer and the cushion with blue crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father dubiously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Elsie Chu. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a chopstick."
"At last," Antonio responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a yawn. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."