When Peep woke up he thought he'd imagined the Leprechaun ordeal.  So silly to be engaged to a fairy at nine years young! It didn't matter anyway because today was his birthday. His last year in the single digits! As promised, his mother let him sleep in. Later he'd get to do whatever he wanted.

Peep jumped out of bed! He dropped the kitten a fairy pellet in her bowl and gave it 3 drops of water. He greeted his furry little friend,"Hello Hello." He never got tired of saying that.

He could smell his favorite birthday breakfast cooking downstairs—chocolate chip pancakes!

He ran into the bathroom to brush his teeth and that's when he saw it. The tiny horseshoe tattoo right between his eyebrows. So it wasn't a dream after all! It was a nightmare! Thankfully his hair was long enough to cover it. He didn't want something as insignificant as a face tattoo spoiling his ninth birthday.

Maybe Locket could remove the betrothal mark, maybe she couldn't. He hoped they weren't really engaged. Showing his mother a mysterious tattoo was one thing, explaining he had a fairy fiancé was another!

Liza called up stairs, "Hey Peep! You up? Breakfast is ready!"

Peep slid down the banister then he ran into the kitchen. He slid across the linoleum floor in his Narito socks. His mother had a stack of warm chocolate chip pancakes ready. She added banana slices for the eyes, a maraschino cherry for the nose and whipped cream for the hair. Peep sat at the kitchen table and asked, "Where's its mouth ma?" 

Liza poured a big smile made of Hershey's chocolate syrup and said, "Happy Birthday Peep! Dig in!"

Peep cut into the pancakes and spoke with his mouth full, "You don't hafta tell me twice!"

Liza joined Peep with a cup of piping hot coffee. She loved to watch Peep eat. He ate with gusto. He did everything with gusto. As she sipped her pumpkin spiced coffee she asked, "So what's on our agenda for today?"

"Corpse Bride!"

Liza smiled and asked, "What's that?"

"It's only the newest stop motion animation by the one and only Tim Burton!" Peep spoke as he continued shoveling in the ooey gooey pancakes.

Liza teased, "Better save some room for popcorn!"

"Ma, there's always room for popcorn and..."

Liza and Peep spoke at the same time, "JELLO!"

"Alright kiddo, you get dressed and I'll see what time the movie's playing."

Peep rattled off the times, "11:40, 1:10, 2:45, 4:00..."

"Okay, okay," Liza chuckled. "I see we've done our homework!"

"No homework today Ma! It's my birthday!"

Liza went to tossle Peep's hair and he moved away. He was petrified she'd she his latest tattoo.

Liza looked puzzled. "What's wrong Peep?"

"Uh... nothing..." He changed the subject. "We don't have to dye my hair today do we Ma?"

"No... I wish we didn't need to cover it at all. School's rules are not mom's rules."

Peep asked hopefully, "Couldn't you just homeschool me?"

She answered sarcastically, "If I didn't need the gobs money I make as a public school teacher, you know I would." Liza began stacking the dishes in the sink.

"What about dad? Peep asked, "Doesn't he make money?"

Liza stopped rinsing the dishes. "Let's talk about money, dad and school another day. Today is your day so let's get this party started!"

Peep and Liza spent the entire day doing Peep stuff.  After seeing "Corpse Bride" two times in a row and consuming a large popcorn and coke (with free refills of course!) they stopped at GameStop. Peep played The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap and Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow and Psychonauts.  Peep decided on Guitar Hero for his birthday because he thought Oskar would like it too.

Liza told Peep he could eat wherever he wanted and he chose Burger King. She groaned, "Come on Peep we can eat anywhere... anywhere at all!"

"I know ma! Burger King is my absolute favorite! Today is buy one Whopper get one free!"

After lunch they drove over to Jones Beach so Peep could do some thinking. Liza wondered what a nine year old boy needed to think about, but she knew her son was no ordinary boy. "No," she thought, "This kid is extraordinary." She pondered what he'd be like when he grew up.

As they sat in the cold sand Peep looked into the surf. Besides a few gray and white seagulls they were completely alone.

Liza studied her son's face and thought, "If it weren't for the Burger King hat he'd seem so grown up."

Then Peep said, "I'm going in!" He stripped down to his Sponge Bob boxers and before Liza could say, "It's only 40 degrees outside!"  Peep dove into a wave."

"It's a good thing I keep a fleece blanket in my car!" Liza shouted after him. "Otherwise you'd be walking home!"

Peep lived in the moment and Liza wished she could be more like him.

-End of Chapter 18-

Author's note:
"So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today." ~Matthew 6:34