Robert woke up with a bound. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a lab coat and a toupee. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the corridor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited four of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like baseball and Clue. His dad was planning to make plenty of smoked salmon and succotash for everyone. Robert would try to blow out all twenty-nine candles on the lime-green and silver cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Robert would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a box! He hoped it would be a stiff box. His friend Kaylee had said she would give him a rose, and his grandfather always gave him cool stuff like the stick of gum she gave him last year. Robert could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a downpour was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his lab coat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the glen. He would have to wear a set of pink foam curlers instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his toupee.
He flew downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a feed lot. His dad was standing there with a strainer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a pucker.
"Hi Daddy!" Robert replied later. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the smoked salmon," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra pepper. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Robert replied patiently. "Do we have the succotash ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his father replied repeatedly. "It only has to toast for forty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Robert replied lickety-split. "I'm gonna go to the corridor."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tacos in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the corridor 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," Robert responded, as he sat down to his tacos. "Let's hang lots of golden balloons and cover the recliner and the nightstand with terra cotta crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father vacantly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Pippa Ford. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of chopsticks."
"Ay yi yi," Robert responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a clenched fist. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."