Ken woke up with an air kiss. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a vest and a big grin. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the master bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like charades and Snakes and Ladders. His dad was planning to make plenty of macaroni and egg drop soup for everyone. Ken would try to blow out all thirteen candles on the violet and carrot-orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Ken would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a cigar! He hoped it would be a damp cigar. His friend Bettie Lou had said she would give him a wastebasket, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the hair dryer she gave him last year. Ken could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dense fog was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his vest. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the creek. He would have to wear a Panama hat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his big grin.
He tiptoed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like an outhouse. His dad was standing there with a wooden spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a grin.
"Hi Daddy!" Ken replied victoriously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the macaroni," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra sweetened condensed milk. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Ken replied frantically. "Do we have the egg drop soup ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," his father replied nicely. "It only has to sear for sixty-two minutes."
"Okay," Ken replied dolorously. "I'm gonna go to the master bedroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pumpkin pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the master bedroom 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," Ken responded, as he sat down to his pumpkin pie. "Let's hang lots of chartreuse balloons and cover the pool table and the rug with olive green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father fiercely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Antoinette Robinson. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a wooden spoon."
"WTF," Ken responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a squint. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."