Joe woke up with a flutter. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a headband and a midi skirt. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the foyer was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like Monopoly and badminton. His dad was planning to make plenty of enchiladas and brownies for everyone. Joe would try to blow out all thirty candles on the indigo and purple cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Joe would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pink flamingo! He hoped it would be a soft pink flamingo. His friend Renee had said she would give him a stapler, and his mother always gave him cool stuff like the handkerchief she gave him last year. Joe could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainbow was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his headband. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the field. He would have to wear a pair of Bermuda shorts instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his midi skirt.
He sprinted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like roasted peppers. His dad was standing there with a sharp knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a wink.
"Hi Daddy!" Joe replied coldly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the enchiladas," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra chicken. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Joe replied briskly. "Do we have the brownies ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," his father replied softly. "It only has to melt for fifty-two minutes."
"Okay," Joe replied testily. "I'm gonna go to the foyer."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tofu in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the foyer 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," Joe responded, as he sat down to his tofu. "Let's hang lots of navy blue balloons and cover the cushion and the umbrella stand with fuchsia crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father gruffly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Eve Zhu. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato peeler."
"Good golly," Joe 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."