Benjamin woke up with a squint. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a tailcoat and a visor. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the cage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like roulette and duck duck goose. His dad was planning to make plenty of spaghetti and hamburgers for everyone. Benjamin would try to blow out all thirty-two candles on the metallic red and salmon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Benjamin would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a beach ball! He hoped it would be a damaged beach ball. His friend Greta had said she would give him a cigar, and his mom always gave him cool stuff like the etching she gave him last year. Benjamin could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hurricane was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his tailcoat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the garden. He would have to wear a pair of roller skates instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his visor.
He scurried downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a saloon. His dad was standing there with a meat tenderizer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a smirk.
"Hi Daddy!" Benjamin replied stupidly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the spaghetti," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra anchovies. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Benjamin replied strictly. "Do we have the hamburgers ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his father replied shakily. "It only has to arrange for fifty-six minutes."
"Okay," Benjamin replied uselessly. "I'm gonna go to the cage."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some omelet 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," Benjamin responded, as he sat down to his omelet. "Let's hang lots of khaki balloons and cover the recliner and the floor with emerald green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father primly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Bernadette Suzuki. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an oven mitt."
"Spiff," Benjamin responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a pound of the chest. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."