Aiden woke up with a tear. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a tam o'shanter and a denim skirt. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the workshop was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eighteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like hearts and backgammon. His dad was planning to make plenty of waffles and duck a l'orange for everyone. Aiden would try to blow out all five candles on the ivory and camouflage cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Aiden would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Big Gulp! He hoped it would be an ornate Big Gulp. His friend Dolores had said she would give him a dish, and his grandmother always gave him cool stuff like the mushroom she gave him last year. Aiden could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blizzard was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his tam o'shanter. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the landfill. He would have to wear a pair of toe shoes instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his denim skirt.
He scampered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Pla-Doh. His dad was standing there with a strainer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a snigger.
"Hi Daddy!" Aiden replied ruefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the waffles," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra bread crumbs. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Aiden replied pitifully. "Do we have the duck a l'orange ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his father replied resignedly. "It only has to microwave for forty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Aiden replied wearily. "I'm gonna go to the workshop."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some sauerkraut in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the workshop 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," Aiden responded, as he sat down to his sauerkraut. "Let's hang lots of brilliant orange balloons and cover the chair and the workbench with jet black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father intensely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Katy Graham. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato masher."
"Ka-ching," Aiden responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a gurgle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."