Thad woke up with a wince. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a bolo tie and a gorilla suit. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the patio was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited six of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like tennis and badminton. His dad was planning to make plenty of Swiss cheese and spaghetti for everyone. Thad would try to blow out all eight candles on the burgundy and brown cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Thad would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a sack of potatoes! He hoped it would be a torn sack of potatoes. His friend Violet had said she would give him a box of candy, and his mommy always gave him cool stuff like the bugle she gave him last year. Thad could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a bit of precipitation was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his bolo tie. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the glen. He would have to wear a wedding dress instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his gorilla suit.
He ran downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like sautéed onions. His dad was standing there with a candy thermometer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a squint.
"Hi Daddy!" Thad replied dreamily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Swiss cheese," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra chopped pecans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Thad replied sternly. "Do we have the spaghetti ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his father replied brightly. "It only has to whirl for seventy-two minutes."
"Okay," Thad replied ferociously. "I'm gonna go to the patio."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some Froot Loops 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," Thad responded, as he sat down to his Froot Loops. "Let's hang lots of turquoise balloons and cover the card table and the rocking chair with pink crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father bitterly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Beatrice Wenzel. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spatula."
"Jeepers creepers," Thad responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a pout. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."