Kenneth woke up with a backward glance. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of safety glasses and a bowler hat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the guest room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like hide and seek and Mother May I. His dad was planning to make plenty of bonbons and smoked salmon for everyone. Kenneth would try to blow out all twelve candles on the lavender and pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Kenneth would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a hacksaw! He hoped it would be a puzzling hacksaw. His friend Beth had said she would give him a muffin, and his wife always gave him cool stuff like the cactus plant she gave him last year. Kenneth could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hurricane was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of safety glasses. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the oasis. He would have to wear a sombrero instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his bowler hat.
He hobbled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cedar. His dad was standing there with a spatula in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a belly laugh.
"Hi Daddy!" Kenneth replied arrogantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the bonbons," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra raisins. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Kenneth replied lovingly. "Do we have the smoked salmon ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his father replied hastily. "It only has to smoke for seven minutes."
"Okay," Kenneth replied obediently. "I'm gonna go to the guest room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some French fries in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the guest room 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," Kenneth responded, as he sat down to his French fries. "Let's hang lots of teal balloons and cover the washstand and the fainting couch with violet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father ingeniously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Audrey Sanders. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a grater."
"Shucks," Kenneth responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a chuckle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."