Sanjay woke up with a wrinkled nose. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a maxi skirt and a pacifier. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the linen closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like seven-up and tennis. His dad was planning to make plenty of wienerschnitzel and refried beans for everyone. Sanjay would try to blow out all thirty-five candles on the yellow and brown cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Sanjay would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a magazine! He hoped it would be a frilly magazine. His friend Angela had said she would give him a pair of fuzzy dice, and his cousin always gave him cool stuff like the stack of papers she gave him last year. Sanjay could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a period of warm weather was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his maxi skirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the plateau. He would have to wear a Panama hat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pacifier.
He hobbled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like strawberries. His dad was standing there with a foot in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a simper.
"Hi Daddy!" Sanjay replied curiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the wienerschnitzel," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra wide egg noodles. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Sanjay replied boldly. "Do we have the refried beans ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his father replied glibly. "It only has to melt for seventy-nine minutes."
"Okay," Sanjay replied miserably. "I'm gonna go to the linen closet."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ice cream in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the linen closet 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 ice cream. "Let's hang lots of orange balloons and cover the counter and the hammock with fuchsia crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father fondly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Judy Paulson. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a turkey baster."
"Quick," Sanjay responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sniffle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."