Tony woke up with a flutter. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a letter jacket and a class ring. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the cage 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 shuffleboard and Clue. His dad was planning to make plenty of cotton candy and mushroom quiche for everyone. Tony would try to blow out all thirty-three candles on the periwinkle and black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Tony would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a contract! He hoped it would be a bulky contract. His friend Kitten had said she would give him a broom, and his mom always gave him cool stuff like the dish she gave him last year. Tony could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a typhoon was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his letter jacket. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the mountaintop. He would have to wear a big red rose instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his class ring.
He skittered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like orange peel. His dad was standing there with a knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a fist bump.
"Hi Daddy!" Tony replied lightly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cotton candy," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra peanuts. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Tony replied grandly. "Do we have the mushroom quiche ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his father replied boisterously. "It only has to braise for seventy-five minutes."
"Okay," Tony replied unabashedly. "I'm gonna go to the cage."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ham in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the cage 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," Tony responded, as he sat down to his ham. "Let's hang lots of aquamarine balloons and cover the ottoman and the catbird seat with scarlet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father needlessly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Annalouise Brookshire. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a candy thermometer."
"Ugh," Tony responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a chortle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."