Irving woke up with a sniffle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a necktie and a set of scrubs. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fourteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like bridge and volleyball. His dad was planning to make plenty of banana split and tortillas for everyone. Irving would try to blow out all twenty-six candles on the emerald green and golden cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Irving would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an avocado! He hoped it would be a ragged avocado. His friend Deena had said she would give him a teapot, and his wife always gave him cool stuff like the dollhouse she gave him last year. Irving could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a snowstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his necktie. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the trail. He would have to wear an Armani suit instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his set of scrubs.
He waddled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rotting meat. His dad was standing there with a napkin in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a glare.
"Hi Daddy!" Irving replied curiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the banana split," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra honey. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Irving replied courteously. "Do we have the tortillas ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his father replied grudgingly. "It only has to toast for eighty minutes."
"Okay," Irving replied sagely. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken soup in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the library 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," Irving responded, as he sat down to his chicken soup. "Let's hang lots of silver balloons and cover the washing machine and the coffee table with violet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father thankfully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Teresa Sokoloff. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a fork."
"My my," Irving responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a shrug. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."