Calvin woke up with a beam. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a hood and a Superman costume. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eighteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like bridge and Clue. His dad was planning to make plenty of fondue and Swiss cheese for everyone. Calvin would try to blow out all twenty-nine candles on the silver and violet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Calvin would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a diamond! He hoped it would be a bulky diamond. His friend Wendy had said she would give him a can of beer, and his cousin always gave him cool stuff like the chamber pot she gave him last year. Calvin could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drought was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his hood. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the cornfield. He would have to wear an overcoat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his Superman costume.
He leapt downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like smelling salts. His dad was standing there with a ladle in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a growl.
"Hi Daddy!" Calvin replied dolefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fondue," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra margarine. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Calvin replied gratefully. "Do we have the Swiss cheese ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his father replied blankly. "It only has to fry for sixty-one minutes."
"Okay," Calvin replied stupidly. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some egg drop soup in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the library 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," Calvin responded, as he sat down to his egg drop soup. "Let's hang lots of green balloons and cover the washing machine and the mattress with orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father kindly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Elly Morgan. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a knife."
"@#%#^@%$@!," Calvin responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a bow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."