Randall woke up with a wince. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a corset and a denim skirt. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the workshop was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like volleyball and Cootie. His dad was planning to make plenty of pie a la mode and duck a l'orange for everyone. Randall would try to blow out all thirty-three candles on the chocolate brown and black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Randall would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a clam! He hoped it would be a dry clam. His friend Winnie had said she would give him a toothbrush, and his friend always gave him cool stuff like the ingot of plutonium she gave him last year. Randall could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pall of doom was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his corset. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the mesa. He would have to wear a black armband instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his denim skirt.
He lurched downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like peppermint. His dad was standing there with a pair of tongs in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a gurgle.
"Hi Daddy!" Randall replied crazily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pie a la mode," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra corn syrup. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Randall replied peevishly. "Do we have the duck a l'orange ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his father replied tenderly. "It only has to poach lightly for eighty-three minutes."
"Okay," Randall replied madly. "I'm gonna go to the workshop."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some steak in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the workshop 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," Randall responded, as he sat down to his steak. "Let's hang lots of orange balloons and cover the coat rack and the dresser with chartreuse crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father dreamily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Taylor Price. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spoon."
"Holy smokes," Randall 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."