Stuart woke up with a raspberry. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a bicycle helmet and a pair of overalls. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the nursery was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirty of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like doctor and crazy eights. His dad was planning to make plenty of applesauce and duck a l'orange for everyone. Stuart would try to blow out all ten candles on the yellow and chartreuse cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Stuart would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a kite! He hoped it would be a queer kite. His friend Lauren had said she would give him a tennis racket, and his grandmother always gave him cool stuff like the mushroom she gave him last year. Stuart could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sandstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his bicycle helmet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the swamp. He would have to wear a balaclava instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of overalls.
He swaggered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cigars. His dad was standing there with a pair of tongs in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a pucker.
"Hi Daddy!" Stuart replied clumsily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the applesauce," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra Jello. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Stuart replied quickly. "Do we have the duck a l'orange ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his father replied blissfully. "It only has to sear outside for fifty-two minutes."
"Okay," Stuart replied accidentally. "I'm gonna go to the nursery."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pie a la mode in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the nursery 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," Stuart responded, as he sat down to his pie a la mode. "Let's hang lots of forest green balloons and cover the windowsill and the buffet with beige crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father merrily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Maria Noonan. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a basting brush."
"Oof," Stuart 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."