Justin woke up with a grimace. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of contact lenses and a set of dentures. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twelve of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like pool and volleyball. His dad was planning to make plenty of biscuits and gravy and chopped liver for everyone. Justin would try to blow out all four candles on the lime-green and peach cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Justin would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a fishhook! He hoped it would be a magnificent fishhook. His friend Marvella had said she would give him a barbell, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the candle she gave him last year. Justin could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a driving rain was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of contact lenses. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the cesspool. He would have to wear a set of pink foam curlers instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his set of dentures.
He proceeded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like sausage. His dad was standing there with a cookie cutter in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a squint.
"Hi Daddy!" Justin replied dubiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the biscuits and gravy," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra Hershey Bar. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Justin replied awkwardly. "Do we have the chopped liver ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," his father replied trustingly. "It only has to melt for twenty-four minutes."
"Okay," Justin replied cautiously. "I'm gonna go to the porch."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some macaroni and cheese in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the porch 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," Justin responded, as he sat down to his macaroni and cheese. "Let's hang lots of olive green balloons and cover the umbrella stand and the chair with emerald green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father unabashedly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Lillian Flash. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dull knife."
"Why," Justin responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a cringe. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."