Shepard woke up with a simper. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a gown and a mortarboard. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the doghouse was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like leapfrog and volleyball. His dad was planning to make plenty of strawberry shortcake and chicken gumbo for everyone. Shepard would try to blow out all six candles on the lime-green and aqua cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Shepard would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a comic book! He hoped it would be a nifty comic book. His friend Lucia had said she would give him a rubber stamp, and his grandfather always gave him cool stuff like the can of shaving cream she gave him last year. Shepard 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 gown. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the backyard. He would have to wear a Stetson hat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his mortarboard.
He flew downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like paint. His dad was standing there with a cookie cutter in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a blush.
"Hi Daddy!" Shepard replied sarcastically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the strawberry shortcake," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra tofu. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Shepard replied irritably. "Do we have the chicken gumbo ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his father replied kindly. "It only has to scramble for thirty-two minutes."
"Okay," Shepard replied suddenly. "I'm gonna go to the doghouse."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some beef bouillon in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the doghouse 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," Shepard responded, as he sat down to his beef bouillon. "Let's hang lots of carrot-orange balloons and cover the cupboard and the wardrobe with golden crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father elatedly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Priscilla Graham. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a meat thermometer."
"Durn it," Shepard 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."