Klaus woke up with a curtsey. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a feather boa and a pith helmet. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the rec room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like dominos and charades. His dad was planning to make plenty of cabbage rolls and shrimp for everyone. Klaus would try to blow out all thirty-two candles on the chartreuse and olive green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Klaus would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a fire hose! He hoped it would be a cheap fire hose. His friend Bev had said she would give him a fishing pole, and his mom always gave him cool stuff like the pizza she gave him last year. Klaus could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his feather boa. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the seashore. He would have to wear a beret instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pith helmet.
He sped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like pickles. His dad was standing there with a turkey baster in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a gasp.
"Hi Daddy!" Klaus replied sharply. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cabbage rolls," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra bacon fat. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Klaus replied anxiously. "Do we have the shrimp ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his father replied awkwardly. "It only has to refrigerate overnight for fifty-five minutes."
"Okay," Klaus replied humbly. "I'm gonna go to the rec room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some squash blossom soup in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the rec room 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," Klaus responded, as he sat down to his squash blossom soup. "Let's hang lots of terra cotta balloons and cover the piano and the recliner with beige crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father sleepily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Cassandra Ashe. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato peeler."
"Ultimate," Klaus 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."