Boots woke up with a flush. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a cloak and an eagle costume. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited sixteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like charades and hide and seek. His dad was planning to make plenty of scrambled eggs and macaroni and cheese for everyone. Boots would try to blow out all twenty-five candles on the chocolate brown and metallic red cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Boots would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bouquet! He hoped it would be a rare bouquet. His friend Merna had said she would give him a map, and his grandfather always gave him cool stuff like the antenna she gave him last year. Boots 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 cloak. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the ridge. He would have to wear a locket instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his eagle costume.
He swung downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like fine perfume. His dad was standing there with a piece of cheesecloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a twitch.
"Hi Daddy!" Boots replied jokingly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the scrambled eggs," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra sour cream. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Boots replied needlessly. "Do we have the macaroni and cheese ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," his father replied majestically. "It only has to heat for thirty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Boots replied sarcastically. "I'm gonna go to the bedroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some Swiss cheese in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the bedroom 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," Boots responded, as he sat down to his Swiss cheese. "Let's hang lots of scarlet balloons and cover the washstand and the bunk bed with aqua crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father quietly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Sierra Montoya. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a whisk."
"Fudge," Boots responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a kiss. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."