Johnny woke up with a grin. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in an overcoat and a belly button jewel. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the game room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited two of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like ring around the rosie and red rover. His dad was planning to make plenty of chicken soup and lasagna for everyone. Johnny would try to blow out all thirteen candles on the chartreuse and orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Johnny would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a mirror! He hoped it would be a small mirror. His friend Nettie had said she would give him a roll of duct tape, and his main squeeze always gave him cool stuff like the teddy bear she gave him last year. Johnny could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drizzle was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his overcoat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the buffalo wallow. He would have to wear a birthday suit instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his belly button jewel.
He blundered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like wet paint. His dad was standing there with a napkin in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a gurgle.
"Hi Daddy!" Johnny replied excitedly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken soup," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra olive oil. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Johnny replied pityingly. "Do we have the lasagna ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his father replied peevishly. "It only has to deep fry for fifteen minutes."
"Okay," Johnny replied gratefully. "I'm gonna go to the game room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some steak in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the game 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," Johnny responded, as he sat down to his steak. "Let's hang lots of lime-green balloons and cover the bookcase and the dining table with golden crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father ignobly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Yvonne Swaanhof. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a corkscrew."
"Chirp," Johnny responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a coo. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."