Nestor woke up with a sneer. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a bodysuit and a set of pink foam curlers. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the workshop was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited sixteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like tag and follow the leader. His dad was planning to make plenty of Hamburger Helper and pumpkin pie for everyone. Nestor would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the brown and jade cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Nestor would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a flute! He hoped it would be a hand-painted flute. His friend Mandy had said she would give him an antenna, and his friend always gave him cool stuff like the stick she gave him last year. Nestor could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dense fog was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his bodysuit. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the pasture. He would have to wear a romper instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his set of pink foam curlers.
He capered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like formaldehyde. His dad was standing there with a pair of chopsticks in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a grimace.
"Hi Daddy!" Nestor replied cheerfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Hamburger Helper," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra peanut butter. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Nestor replied nicely. "Do we have the pumpkin pie ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his father replied ignobly. "It only has to sear outside for seventy-five minutes."
"Okay," Nestor replied dolefully. "I'm gonna go to the workshop."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cabbage rolls in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the workshop 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," Nestor responded, as he sat down to his cabbage rolls. "Let's hang lots of salmon balloons and cover the piano and the safe with sparkly crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father menacingly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Riley Kim. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a whisk."
"Voilà," Nestor responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a squint. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."