Dakota 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 wedding dress and a pair of moon boots. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the patio was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like seven-up and jump rope. His dad was planning to make plenty of hot dogs and falafel for everyone. Dakota would try to blow out all ten candles on the azure and scarlet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Dakota would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a stuffed owl! He hoped it would be a golden stuffed owl. His friend Martina had said she would give him a bedpan, and his grandfather always gave him cool stuff like the cigar she gave him last year. Dakota could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sandstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his wedding dress. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the gulch. He would have to wear a gladiator helmet instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of moon boots.
He slid downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Avon. His dad was standing there with a knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a snort.
"Hi Daddy!" Dakota replied sternly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the hot dogs," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra parsley. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Dakota replied haughtily. "Do we have the falafel ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his father replied again. "It only has to slow cook for eighty-four minutes."
"Okay," Dakota replied jokingly. "I'm gonna go to the patio."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ice cream in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the patio 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," Dakota responded, as he sat down to his ice cream. "Let's hang lots of camouflage balloons and cover the dishwasher and the armoire with green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father gracefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Michaela Weatherford. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spoon."
"Umm," Dakota responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a wrinkled nose. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."