Boots woke up with a gasp. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a blouse and a sweater. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the guest room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like hearts and musical chairs. His dad was planning to make plenty of dirty rice and spaghetti for everyone. Boots would try to blow out all ten candles on the purple and terra cotta cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Boots would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an etching! He hoped it would be a golden etching. His friend Dolores had said she would give him a spoon, and his dad always gave him cool stuff like the gun she gave him last year. Boots could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drizzle was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his blouse. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the veld. He would have to wear an 'I'm with Stupid' shirt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his sweater.
He skipped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like paint. His dad was standing there with a Sham-Wow! in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a cheer.
"Hi Daddy!" Boots replied smoothly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the dirty rice," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra flour. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Boots replied warily. "Do we have the spaghetti ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his father replied blindly. "It only has to slow cook for fifty-six minutes."
"Okay," Boots replied hastily. "I'm gonna go to the guest room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some macaroni 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," Boots responded, as he sat down to his macaroni. "Let's hang lots of maroon balloons and cover the canopy bed and the rug with brilliant orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father hopelessly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Crystal Dalton. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a paring knife."
"Behold," Boots responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a guffaw. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."