Newt woke up with a squint. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a dunce cap and a pair of dungarees. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the ballroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-six of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like treasure hunt and solitaire. His dad was planning to make plenty of brownies and bonbons for everyone. Newt would try to blow out all twelve candles on the lavender and silver cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Newt would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pack of gum! He hoped it would be a weird pack of gum. His friend Marilyn had said she would give him a peanut, and his aunt always gave him cool stuff like the feather she gave him last year. Newt 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 dunce cap. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the pond. He would have to wear a tailcoat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of dungarees.
He waddled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like wine. His dad was standing there with a strainer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a frown.
"Hi Daddy!" Newt replied lickety-split. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the brownies," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra barbecue sauce. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Newt replied woodenly. "Do we have the bonbons ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his father replied kindly. "It only has to simmer for eleven minutes."
"Okay," Newt replied softly. "I'm gonna go to the ballroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some hot dogs in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the ballroom 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," Newt responded, as he sat down to his hot dogs. "Let's hang lots of sea green balloons and cover the table and the chest of drawers with indigo crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father sweetly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Lynn Osaka. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a mixing spoon."
"Judas Priest," Newt responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a hiccup. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."