Willie woke up with a shout. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pacifier and a bow tie. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the rec room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-four of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like jump rope and Cootie. His dad was planning to make plenty of crab rangoon and pancakes for everyone. Willie would try to blow out all ten candles on the salmon and silver cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Willie would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a whistle! He hoped it would be a stuffed whistle. His friend Marcie had said she would give him a telephone book, and his cousin always gave him cool stuff like the cardboard box she gave him last year. Willie could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a windstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pacifier. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the bog. He would have to wear a nightgown instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his bow tie.
He climbed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rotten eggs. His dad was standing there with a strainer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a furrowed brow.
"Hi Daddy!" Willie replied delicately. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the crab rangoon," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra chopped onions. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Willie replied languidly. "Do we have the pancakes ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," his father replied wildly. "It only has to boil for eleven minutes."
"Okay," Willie replied menacingly. "I'm gonna go to the rec room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some hors d'oeuvre in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the rec 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," Willie responded, as he sat down to his hors d'oeuvre. "Let's hang lots of jet black balloons and cover the piano and the sofa with teal crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father reluctantly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Roberta Broderick. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a napkin."
"Freaky," Willie 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."