Buster woke up with a woof. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of trousers and a military uniform. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like musical chairs and poker. His dad was planning to make plenty of sauerkraut and lime sherbet for everyone. Buster would try to blow out all fourteen candles on the hot pink and olive drab cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Buster would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a flash drive! He hoped it would be a handy flash drive. His friend Madelyn had said she would give him a notebook, and his grandmother always gave him cool stuff like the comb she gave him last year. Buster could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainbow was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of trousers. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the mountain. He would have to wear a dress instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his military uniform.
He staggered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like manure. His dad was standing there with a paring knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a wince.
"Hi Daddy!" Buster replied narrowly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the sauerkraut," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra pretzels. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Buster replied awkwardly. "Do we have the lime sherbet ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his father replied arrogantly. "It only has to simmer for twenty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Buster replied daringly. "I'm gonna go to the bedroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tofu in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the bedroom 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," Buster responded, as he sat down to his tofu. "Let's hang lots of indigo balloons and cover the ironing board and the beanbag chair with crimson crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father dolorously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Linda Remington. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spatula."
"Ssss," Buster responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a stiff upper lip. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."