Carl woke up with a chuckle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in an overcoat and a bib. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fourteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like dominos and bridge. His dad was planning to make plenty of squash blossom soup and wienerschnitzel for everyone. Carl would try to blow out all fifteen candles on the teal and black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Carl would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a banana! He hoped it would be a prickly banana. His friend Agnes had said she would give him a mirror, and his sister-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the Egyptian mummy she gave him last year. Carl could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a snowstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his overcoat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the hill. He would have to wear an overcoat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his bib.
He cantered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like chocolate cake. His dad was standing there with a paring knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a wink.
"Hi Daddy!" Carl replied haughtily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the squash blossom soup," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra rosemary. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Carl replied proudly. "Do we have the wienerschnitzel ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," his father replied unnaturally. "It only has to blanch for eighty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Carl replied humbly. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some crumb cake in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the library 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," Carl responded, as he sat down to his crumb cake. "Let's hang lots of beige balloons and cover the sofa and the toilet with green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father sharply. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Madelyn Clinton. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a fork."
"The joke's on you," Carl responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a crow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."