Emile woke up with a blush. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a sport coat and a toga. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the patio was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited six of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like Monopoly and jump rope. His dad was planning to make plenty of catfish stew and strawberry shortcake for everyone. Emile would try to blow out all fourteen candles on the aquamarine and red cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Emile would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a chamber pot! He hoped it would be a polka-dotted chamber pot. His friend Deena had said she would give him a pipe, and his cousin always gave him cool stuff like the Barbie doll she gave him last year. Emile could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a driving rain was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his sport coat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the marsh. He would have to wear a pair of bloomers instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his toga.
He blundered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like wet paint. His dad was standing there with a melon baller in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a guffaw.
"Hi Daddy!" Emile replied sweetly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the catfish stew," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra minced onion. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Emile replied delicately. "Do we have the strawberry shortcake ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his father replied calmly. "It only has to microwave for seventy-two minutes."
"Okay," Emile replied warily. "I'm gonna go to the patio."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some hors d'oeuvre in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the patio 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," Emile responded, as he sat down to his hors d'oeuvre. "Let's hang lots of green balloons and cover the china cabinet and the dining table with metallic red crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father fervently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Nicole Morrissey. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a food processor."
"Nuts," Emile responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a hoot. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."