Doug woke up with a smirk. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a sombrero and a bodysuit. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like Russian roulette and red light green light. His dad was planning to make plenty of sauerkraut and pizza for everyone. Doug would try to blow out all ten candles on the white and carrot-orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Doug would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a napkin! He hoped it would be a weird napkin. His friend Gabriela had said she would give him a diagram, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the coffee pot she gave him last year. Doug could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his sombrero. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the mountainside. He would have to wear a hoop skirt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his bodysuit.
He zipped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like wine. His dad was standing there with a cheesecloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a beam.
"Hi Daddy!" Doug replied valiantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the sauerkraut," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra fresh garlic. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Doug replied steadily. "Do we have the pizza ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," his father replied kindly. "It only has to fry fiercely in art deco skillet for ninety minutes."
"Okay," Doug replied vigorously. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lasagna in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the bathroom 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," Doug responded, as he sat down to his lasagna. "Let's hang lots of black balloons and cover the credenza and the end table with magenta crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father miserably. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Joanie Feldman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a melon baller."
"Woohoo," Doug responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a shiver. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."