Edmond 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 a suit of armor and a Panama hat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the living room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nineteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like tag and treasure hunt. His dad was planning to make plenty of pumpkin pie and sushi for everyone. Edmond would try to blow out all nineteen candles on the grey and peach cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Edmond would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Frisbee! He hoped it would be a rancid Frisbee. His friend Nicki had said she would give him a mop, and his aunt always gave him cool stuff like the corncob she gave him last year. Edmond could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his suit of armor. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the plateau. He would have to wear an evening gown instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his Panama hat.
He loped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like peanuts. His dad was standing there with a dull knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a stiff upper lip.
"Hi Daddy!" Edmond replied openly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pumpkin pie," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra ground mustard. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Edmond replied blissfully. "Do we have the sushi ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his father replied recklessly. "It only has to marinate for forty-three minutes."
"Okay," Edmond replied elatedly. "I'm gonna go to the living room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some duck a l'orange in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the living room 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," Edmond responded, as he sat down to his duck a l'orange. "Let's hang lots of burgundy balloons and cover the hamper and the bar stool with metallic red crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father hopefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Rhoda Kinstler. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a meat thermometer."
"Sacre bleu," Edmond responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a guffaw. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."