Barnabas woke up with a giggle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a Panama hat and a class ring. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the guest room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like Parcheesi and Scrabble. His dad was planning to make plenty of chicken chow mein and corn on the cob for everyone. Barnabas would try to blow out all seven candles on the lavender and jade cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Barnabas would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a lemon! He hoped it would be a leather lemon. His friend Juanita had said she would give him an orange, and his mom always gave him cool stuff like the rose she gave him last year. Barnabas 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 Panama hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the meadow. He would have to wear a skirt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his class ring.
He blundered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a Christmas tree. His dad was standing there with a napkin in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a raspberry.
"Hi Daddy!" Barnabas replied strangely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken chow mein," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Barnabas replied later. "Do we have the corn on the cob ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his father replied tenderly. "It only has to blanch for eighty-five minutes."
"Okay," Barnabas replied hopelessly. "I'm gonna go to the guest room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some succotash in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the guest 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," Barnabas responded, as he sat down to his succotash. "Let's hang lots of brilliant orange balloons and cover the bookshelf and the futon with crimson crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father sharply. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Veronica Caldwell. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a piece of cheesecloth."
"Hee haw," Barnabas responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sniff. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."