Sanjay woke up with a yawn. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a bicycle helmet and a suit of armor. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the kitchen was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fourteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like billiards and blackjack. His dad was planning to make plenty of country glazed ham and sweet potatoes for everyone. Sanjay would try to blow out all eighteen candles on the aquamarine and ivory cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Sanjay would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a clock! He hoped it would be an important clock. His friend Sadie had said she would give him a napkin, and his grandfather always gave him cool stuff like the nail she gave him last year. Sanjay 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 bicycle helmet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the cave. He would have to wear a toga instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his suit of armor.
He bounced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rotten eggs. His dad was standing there with a whisk in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a flush.
"Hi Daddy!" Sanjay replied lightly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the country glazed ham," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra sauerkraut. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Sanjay replied sheepishly. "Do we have the sweet potatoes ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his father replied fervently. "It only has to melt for sixty-two minutes."
"Okay," Sanjay replied ruefully. "I'm gonna go to the kitchen."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some duck a l'orange in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the kitchen 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," Sanjay responded, as he sat down to his duck a l'orange. "Let's hang lots of lavender balloons and cover the sofa and the canopy bed with golden crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father confidently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Mary Vaniman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a piece of cheesecloth."
"Really," Sanjay responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a raised eyebrow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."