Wesley woke up with a hoot. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a floppy hat and a beard. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the oubliette was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like Clue and ring around the rosie. His dad was planning to make plenty of prime rib and bread and butter for everyone. Wesley would try to blow out all sixteen candles on the sea green and golden cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Wesley would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a padlock! He hoped it would be a hollow padlock. His friend Elizabeth had said she would give him a screwdriver, and his mom always gave him cool stuff like the feather she gave him last year. Wesley could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drought was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his floppy hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the ridge. He would have to wear a pair of glasses instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his beard.
He sped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like smoked fish. His dad was standing there with a paring knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a kiss.
"Hi Daddy!" Wesley replied lovingly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the prime rib," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra okra. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Wesley replied frantically. "Do we have the bread and butter ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his father replied irritably. "It only has to boil for four minutes."
"Okay," Wesley replied reluctantly. "I'm gonna go to the oubliette."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fried chicken in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the oubliette 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," Wesley responded, as he sat down to his fried chicken. "Let's hang lots of blue balloons and cover the floor and the hammock with pink crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father automatically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Katie Day. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a paring knife."
"For cryin' out loud," Wesley responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a simper. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."