Thaddeus woke up with a shrug. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a dunce cap and a swimsuit. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the conservatory was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited one of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like red rover and pool. His dad was planning to make plenty of chocolate-covered ants and sauerkraut for everyone. Thaddeus would try to blow out all thirty-five candles on the emerald green and sea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Thaddeus would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a sponge! He hoped it would be a mechanical sponge. His friend Sheila had said she would give him a teddy bear, and his wife always gave him cool stuff like the jar of olives she gave him last year. Thaddeus could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blanket of mist was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his dunce cap. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the veld. He would have to wear a pair of contact lenses instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his swimsuit.
He proceeded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like meatloaf. His dad was standing there with a bare foot in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a shrug.
"Hi Daddy!" Thaddeus replied steadily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chocolate-covered ants," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra powdered sugar. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Thaddeus replied despondently. "Do we have the sauerkraut ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his father replied softly. "It only has to place on serving dish for seven minutes."
"Okay," Thaddeus replied tearfully. "I'm gonna go to the conservatory."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some blueberry pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the conservatory 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," Thaddeus responded, as he sat down to his blueberry pie. "Let's hang lots of polka dotted balloons and cover the bench and the chair with teal crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father coldly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Daisy Bower. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a slotted spoon."
"Kaboom," Thaddeus responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with an evil eye. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."