Andy woke up with a roar. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a motorcycle helmet and an earring. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like red rover and tag. His dad was planning to make plenty of pot roast and chopped liver for everyone. Andy would try to blow out all twenty candles on the blue and hot pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Andy would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a smart phone! He hoped it would be a slimy smart phone. His friend Gretchen had said she would give him a roll of duct tape, and his wife always gave him cool stuff like the remote control she gave him last year. Andy could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a bit of precipitation was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his motorcycle helmet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the marsh. He would have to wear a cocktail dress instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his earring.
He flew downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Band-Aids. His dad was standing there with an ice pick in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a smirk.
"Hi Daddy!" Andy replied repeatedly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pot roast," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra fresh basil. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Andy replied warmly. "Do we have the chopped liver ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his father replied stupidly. "It only has to braise for sixty-four minutes."
"Okay," Andy replied hopelessly. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"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 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," Andy responded, as he sat down to his hot dogs. "Let's hang lots of mauve balloons and cover the carpet and the pedestal with azure crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father delicately. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Alisa Richards. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a fork."
"Fun," Andy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a flinch. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."