Albert woke up with a flinch. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in an Eton jacket and a maxi skirt. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the master bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eighteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like dodge ball and rummy. His dad was planning to make plenty of bread and butter and egg salad sandwich for everyone. Albert would try to blow out all three candles on the sparkly and turquoise cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Albert would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pot! He hoped it would be a thick pot. His friend Dianna had said she would give him a sack of potatoes, and his mommy always gave him cool stuff like the bag of groceries she gave him last year. Albert could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dust storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his Eton jacket. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the village. He would have to wear a leotard instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his maxi skirt.
He galloped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Elizabeth Arden. His dad was standing there with an ice pick in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a yawn.
"Hi Daddy!" Albert replied carelessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the bread and butter," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra sage. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Albert replied resignedly. "Do we have the egg salad sandwich ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his father replied brashly. "It only has to grill for fifty-one minutes."
"Okay," Albert replied speedily. "I'm gonna go to the master bedroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some oatmeal in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the master 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," Albert responded, as he sat down to his oatmeal. "Let's hang lots of polka dotted balloons and cover the pedestal and the coffee table with beige crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father crossly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Edie Bogart. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an oven mitt."
"Godspeed," Albert responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a caress. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."