It was the day before Cady's birthday party, Friday, September 30, and Roger had gone to the party supply store after Cynthia had gotten home from work. When he returned home, he kicked the front door with his foot since his hands were full. Cynthia came to the door.
"Good grief, Roger! Did you clean the place out?" she said, reaching out to take some things out of his hands.
Cady came running from her bedroom. "What did you get, Daddy?"
"Just a minute, Cady," he said as he put a couple of bags down on the coffee table.
Cady wriggled with excitement. Cynthia pulled out rolls of streamers and small bags of balloons.
"I got some decorations, as your mother has discovered, and some games for the party," Roger said.
"What games?" Cady asked.
"Well, let's see….I got this Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Donkey game and this..." he paused for dramatic effect, "piñata!"
"Oooooh, Daddy. Fun!"
"What are these for?" Cynthia asked holding up a jar and some clothespins.
"That's for the Clothespin Drop game," Roger said.
"Roger, it's the 1950s, not the 1920s. Kids require a little more stimulation these days," she replied. "And what are the Tootsie Rolls for?"
"A Tootsie Roll hunt. The woman at the store assured me everyone's doing it at birthday parties these days," he replied.
"Sounds like we're going to have a full day," Cynthia said, tucking her dark hair behind her ear.
"I figured there'd be a game of Musical Chairs, too," he replied.
"Whew! Cady, do you think you can handle all that fun in one day?" Cynthia asked with a knowing smile.
"Yes, Momma!" Cady declared.
"Let's hope your Daddy and I can keep up," Cynthia said, patting Cady on the back.
"Can I have some Tootsie Rolls now?" Cady asked.
"No way, young lady. Dinner's almost ready," Cynthia replied. "Why don't you come in the kitchen with me, and we'll get everything ready while Daddy puts all this stuff up for the time being," she said, looking at Roger with a smile on her face.
Roger packed up the party goods and placed them in a corner of the living room behind a chair while Cynthia and Cady readied dinner. Soon, all sat down to eat and plan the party.
"So, what I was thinking, is that you and Cady can decorate for the party early tomorrow morning," Cynthia said.
"Yea!" Cady exclaimed.
"I think we can handle that," Roger said, squeezing Cady's arm gently. She smiled back at him.
"The grandparents and aunt and uncle will all be arriving in the morning," Cynthia said.
"Dorothy?!" Cady asked.
"Don't worry, she'll be there," Cynthia replied.
"Before I forget, the picnic tables I rented will be delivered tomorrow morning too," Roger said.
"Good," Cynthia said. "I'll call in the pizza order in the morning if you'll go pick it up before noon. I figured we'd eat first and then have games and finally, presents and dessert."
"Can do," Roger said.
"Charlie, Steven, Betty Lou, and Julia are definitely going to be here. Have you heard from Bill about him and Mattlock?"
"Yes. They're coming," Roger replied.
"Sounds like we have a party, then," Cynthia said.
Roger raised his hands and looked at Cady and yelled, "Yea!" which Cady gladly mirrored and echoed.
After dinner, the Parsons family wound down to The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet on television before Cady got a bath and had to go to bed. She practiced her reading with Cynthia, as always, before going to sleep.
The next morning, Cady bolted out of bed and ran into her parents' bedroom. "Time to decorate for the party!" she yelled after flopping on their bed. She had gotten dressed in her overalls, shirt, and canvas tennis shoes.
Roger yawned and looked at the alarm clock by the bed, "Cady, it's 6 a.m."
"We better get goin', Daddy!" she insisted.
Cynthia yawned and stretched, "Unfortunately, she's right, Roger. We've got a lot to do."
"Okay, okay," Roger said with another yawn, and got out of bed.
"I'm going to jump in the shower and then get to baking," Cynthia said.
"Cady, why don't you go wait for me in the kitchen while I get dressed, and I'll be in there in a few minutes," Roger said.
"Okay, Daddy!" she said, and skipped out of the room.
Roger rubbed his face and shook his head at Cynthia. She patted him on the shoulder. "Have fun, honey," she said.
Roger and Cady shared a quick breakfast in the kitchen while Cynthia was in the shower and afterward, he and Cady began decorating the house and the backyard. They started in the backyard with Roger holding Cady up in the air to start a spiral of red streamer around a tree. She duct taped the beginning of the streamer to the smooth bark of the tree. He circled her around the tree and she giddily wrapped it downward until it reached the ground. They decorated several trees in this manner before Roger, using a step ladder, ran twisted streamers of red and white connecting the same trees. Then they began blowing up balloons of red, white, and pink. Roger blew up the big round ones and the oblong ones while Cady took the smaller round balloons; however, she was only able to blow up a few in the end. He set her to the task of thumb tacking them to the trees decorated with streamers while he held her up again to do so.
After a while, the two came in through the back door to the kitchen where Cynthia was preparing the German chocolate Cake in the form of a giant sheet cake.
"Looks good, honey," Roger said, and kissed her on her cheek as he and Cady quickly passed her. "We're going to the front yard now."
On the way to the front door, there was a knock. Roger opened the door.
"Hi sir. Do you have an order for three picnic tables?" asked the husky man in blue overalls with a nametag that read 'Lou.'
Cady stood there holding Roger's hand when he said, "Yes. Just set them up around back. In between all the streamers."
"Yes, sir," he said.
"Thanks," Roger said. "C'mon, Cady. Let's decorate the porch first."
She watched the delivery man walk to his truck where another man was waiting. "Okay, Daddy," she said with a cautious tone.
The two decorated the porch with streamers and balloons and when they were finished, Roger asked, "What do you think we should do with these shrubs, Cady?"
"Throw the streamers at them!" she exclaimed.
"Well, that would be fun, but we need to save some for the mailbox," he replied with a smile. "How about if we make a zig-zag pattern across a few of them?"
"Okay. You do that, Daddy," she said.
"I see. Getting tired? You've still got a whole day ahead of you," he said.
"No. I've just never done a zag pattern before," she said.
"I'll show you once and you can help me a second time. These two shrubs on either side of the porch should be fine," he said.
"Okay, Daddy," she said.
Roger demonstrated on one and then they did the other together.
"Okay, let's decorate the mailbox," he said.
"Sir?" a voice came from behind them.
"We're done with the tables. I need you to sign here," the delivery man said. He handed Roger a clipboard and looked down at Cady and smiled. Cady moved slightly behind Roger's leg.
"Do you need anything else?" Roger asked.
"No, sir. We'll be back Monday to pick up the tables.
"Thanks for your help," Roger said, and shook the delivery man's hand.
"You're welcome," he said, and got into his truck with his partner and drove away.
While Roger and Cady were decorating the mailbox, she said to him, "Daddy, I wanna be a lawyer like you when I grow up."
"Oh, you do, do you?" he replied.
"Yes," she said.
"And why's that?" he inquired.
"You're smart and you get to talk to a lot of people," she said.
"Well, it's a little more than that," he said, taping a balloon to the mailbox.
"You help people," she said.
"Momma helps people," he said. "You could be a doctor."
"Nah. She comes home sad from work sometimes," she said.
"You're right. She has to deal with difficult things some days," he said.
"She cries sometimes," she said.
"I know," he said. "Still, you don't know what you're going to be. You're just going to be five years old on Monday. There's plenty of time to decide. I know whatever you decide to do, you'll do well at it."
She shook her hood and crossed her arms. "Nope. I'm gonna be a lawyer," she said.
"If you say so," he said with a smile, as he put the remaining decorations in the paper bag he'd been carrying with them. Then, he scooped her up and carried her back into the house.
"How's the cake coming, Cindy?" Roger asked as they entered the kitchen. He put Cady down.
"Baking as we speak. I called the pizzeria. They'll have the pizzas ready by 11:30," she said.
"Good. Guess it's my turn to take a shower," he replied, and left to do so.
Cynthia turned to Cady, "You better get ready too, Cady."
"I'm already ready, Momma," she said.
"You're not wearing overalls at your birthday party," Cynthia said.
"Why not?" Cady asked.
"You should wear the pink dress your Gramma got you, since she's going to be here today," she said.
"I don't wanna, Momma," Cady replied.
"But you love that dress," Cynthia replied.
"But I can't play with the other kids if I wear it," Cady said.
"Oh, I see the problem," Cynthia said. "Don't worry about that. Go ahead and wear your pink pedal pushers underneath, and if they both get dirty, we can take them to the cleaners, okay?"
"Okay, Momma," Cady said and walked away dejected.
Cynthia called after her, "When you get back, bring your brush, and I'll fix your hair."
"Okay, Momma," Cady called back.
A few minutes later, Roger came out in his Saturday leisure best. He wore a light blue short-sleeve shirt with a standard collar and a single breast pocket with khaki slacks. "How do I look?" he asked Cynthia.
She walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his athletic frame. "As handsome as the day I met you," she said and kissed him firmly on the lips, right before the oven timer dinged.
"Ask not for whom the bell tolls…" he said.
Cynthia sighed. "It tolls for me," she said, pointing at herself. She let go of Roger and headed back into the kitchen. Cady emerged from her bedroom to the living room where Roger was standing.
"Well, look at you, Miss Cady Jo! You sure do look purty today," he said in his best exaggerated Texas accent.
"Daddy!" Cady said.
"What?" he said with a smirk. Cynthia emerged from the kitchen. "Yes, Cady, you look very pretty. You better get used to it. You take after me," she said, jokingly fluffing her hair and elbowing Roger.
"Momma…." Cady said with her arms akimbo. Roger left to go check on the cake.
"Okay, let me brush your hair. Come stand here," she said while sitting down on the couch and gesturing to the area between her knees. Cady stood still while Cynthia brushed and styled her dark wavy hair. "Do you want a ribbon in your hair?"
"No, Momma. Are you done yet?" she asked impatiently.
"Almost," she said. "There. Now turn around and look at me." Cady turned around and Cynthia made some final adjustments to her hair. "Good. Your grandparents should be here soon. Why don't you sit down and color or read, or something."
"Okay, Momma," Cady said.
"Cake looks great, Cindy," Roger said, coming back from the kitchen.
"Thanks. Guess I'll go back in there and whip up the German Chocolate icing," she said.
"Hopefully, Cady or I will get to lick the spoon?" Roger asked.
"You are two peas in a pod," Cynthia replied.
"Thanks, honey," he said and pecked her on the cheek. He then sat down in his chair in the living room and started to read the Saturday paper, while Cady colored in a coloring book with pictures of horses.
Roger called into the kitchen, "Hey Cynthia. We've both been so busy. Did you hear that James Dean was killed yesterday?"
Cynthia darted furtively into the room and said in a low voice, "Roger, I don't think that's appropriate conversation for today," she said, giving a side glance at Cady who continued to be absorbed in her coloring, apparently not hearing Roger's remark.
"No, I suppose not," he said, realizing his error.
Cynthia walked up and looked at the picture over Cady's shoulder, and quietly returned to the kitchen.