Montague woke up with a sniff. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a tie and a tailcoat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the hall was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nineteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like treasure hunt and Rummy. His dad was planning to make plenty of corn on the cob and fish and chips for everyone. Montague would try to blow out all eight candles on the amber and green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Montague would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a baton! He hoped it would be a hand-painted baton. His friend Christabel had said she would give him a battery, and his wife always gave him cool stuff like the mirror she gave him last year. Montague 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 tie. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the grassland. He would have to wear a pair of overalls instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his tailcoat.
He sneaked downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like burning trash. His dad was standing there with a sharp knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a sigh.
"Hi Daddy!" Montague replied deliberately. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the corn on the cob," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra chopped green pepper. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Montague replied diligently. "Do we have the fish and chips ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," his father replied bitterly. "It only has to microwave for sixty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Montague replied sympathetically. "I'm gonna go to the hall."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cotton candy in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the hall 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," Montague responded, as he sat down to his cotton candy. "Let's hang lots of white balloons and cover the water bed and the credenza with rose crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father sharply. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Heather Noon. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a Sham-Wow!."
"I'll drink to that," Montague responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a titter. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."