Dale woke up with a wince. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a bowler hat and a pair of moccasins. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the guest room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like crazy eights and ring around the rosie. His dad was planning to make plenty of pot roast and potatoes and gravy for everyone. Dale would try to blow out all thirty-five candles on the periwinkle and aquamarine cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Dale would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bowl! He hoped it would be a rusty bowl. His friend Celeste had said she would give him a chamber pot, and his grandpa always gave him cool stuff like the feather she gave him last year. Dale could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his bowler hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the arroyo. He would have to wear a corset instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of moccasins.
He made a beeline downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a wet dog. His dad was standing there with a sharp knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a backward glance.
"Hi Daddy!" Dale replied mysteriously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pot roast," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra wide egg noodles. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Dale replied blankly. "Do we have the potatoes and gravy ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his father replied hopefully. "It only has to refrigerate overnight for fifty-three minutes."
"Okay," Dale replied despondently. "I'm gonna go to the guest room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some blueberry pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the guest 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," Dale responded, as he sat down to his blueberry pie. "Let's hang lots of chocolate brown balloons and cover the couch and the settee with camouflage crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father sharply. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Krystal Dodds. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pastry blender."
"So sure," Dale responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a finger gun. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."