Nils woke up with a wrinkled nose. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a black armband and a camisole. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the parlor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited ten of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like blackjack and duck duck goose. His dad was planning to make plenty of potatoes and gravy and pot roast for everyone. Nils would try to blow out all twenty-nine candles on the maroon and azure cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Nils would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Frisbee! He hoped it would be a gruesome Frisbee. His friend Sadie had said she would give him a knitting needle, and his grandfather always gave him cool stuff like the ingot of plutonium she gave him last year. Nils could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a windstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his black armband. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the cave. He would have to wear an Armani suit instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his camisole.
He clambered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like onions. His dad was standing there with a bare foot in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a honk.
"Hi Daddy!" Nils replied fervently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the potatoes and gravy," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra cream of mushroom soup. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Nils replied warily. "Do we have the pot roast ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his father replied carelessly. "It only has to shake for sixty-five minutes."
"Okay," Nils replied surreptitiously. "I'm gonna go to the parlor."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some roast beef in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the parlor 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," Nils responded, as he sat down to his roast beef. "Let's hang lots of aquamarine balloons and cover the dishwasher and the table with white crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father threateningly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Hildegarde Dodds. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an ice pick."
"Can you dig it?," Nils responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a roar. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."