Matthew woke up with a shiver. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a garland and a hood. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-five of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like cribbage and volleyball. His dad was planning to make plenty of potatoes and gravy and clam chowder for everyone. Matthew would try to blow out all fifteen candles on the sparkly and orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Matthew would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a fish bowl! He hoped it would be a striking fish bowl. His friend Penelope had said she would give him a bag of potato chips, and his aunt always gave him cool stuff like the bell she gave him last year. Matthew could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hailstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his garland. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the arroyo. He would have to wear a robe instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his hood.
He scooted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a sardine cannery. His dad was standing there with a napkin in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a chortle.
"Hi Daddy!" Matthew replied tensely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the potatoes and gravy," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra red lentils. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Matthew replied accidentally. "Do we have the clam chowder ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," his father replied firmly. "It only has to mix grimly for four minutes."
"Okay," Matthew replied boisterously. "I'm gonna go to the bedroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some roast turkey in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the bedroom 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," Matthew responded, as he sat down to his roast turkey. "Let's hang lots of indigo balloons and cover the washstand and the wine rack with carrot-orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father boisterously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Ida Backus. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a knife."
"Wow," Matthew responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a guffaw. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."