Vernon woke up with a kiss. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a locket and a pair of flip-flops. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eleven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like tag and seven-up. His dad was planning to make plenty of apple pie and egg salad sandwich for everyone. Vernon would try to blow out all fourteen candles on the emerald green and salmon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Vernon would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a carrot! He hoped it would be a slimy carrot. His friend Elsa had said she would give him a flower, and his aunt always gave him cool stuff like the coin she gave him last year. Vernon could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a gale was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his locket. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the cesspool. He would have to wear a winter coat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of flip-flops.
He stormed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like something died. His dad was standing there with a dull knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a bow.
"Hi Daddy!" Vernon replied hopelessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the apple pie," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra egg yolks. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Vernon replied haughtily. "Do we have the egg salad sandwich ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his father replied surreptitiously. "It only has to bake at 450 degrees F for eleven minutes."
"Okay," Vernon replied vigorously. "I'm gonna go to the bedroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some steak in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the 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," Vernon responded, as he sat down to his steak. "Let's hang lots of amber balloons and cover the bunk bed and the dresser with khaki crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father miserably. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Bobbie Running Bird. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a Sham-Wow!."
"Yummy," Vernon responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a gasp. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."