Millicent woke up with a frown. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a veil and a pair of overalls. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the garage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nineteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like treasure hunt and chess. His dad was planning to make plenty of pecan pie and cookies for everyone. Millicent would try to blow out all twenty candles on the tan and lime-green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Millicent would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pepper grinder! He hoped it would be a mysterious pepper grinder. His friend Lynn had said she would give him a microscope, and his mother always gave him cool stuff like the floppy disk she gave him last year. Millicent could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a tornado was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his veil. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the valley. He would have to wear a pair of boxer shorts instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of overalls.
He whirled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cheap cologne. His dad was standing there with an oven mitt in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a snuffle.
"Hi Daddy!" Millicent replied nonchalantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pecan pie," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra boneless chicken breast. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Millicent replied fiercely. "Do we have the cookies ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," his father replied queerly. "It only has to fry for eighty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Millicent replied boisterously. "I'm gonna go to the garage."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some sushi in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the garage 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," Millicent responded, as he sat down to his sushi. "Let's hang lots of grey balloons and cover the overstuffed chair and the display case with rose crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father tenderly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Avery Zing. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a bare foot."
"Hold that thought," Millicent 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."