Vernon woke up with a cheer. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of jackboots and a derby. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the parlor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited ten of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like Mother May I and ring around the rosie. His dad was planning to make plenty of shrimp and tuna casserole for everyone. Vernon would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the pink and camouflage cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Vernon would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a hammer! He hoped it would be a broken hammer. His friend So-Yeng had said she would give him an air compressor, and his fiancée always gave him cool stuff like the baseball she gave him last year. Vernon could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blanket of mist was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of jackboots. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the butte. He would have to wear a pair of overalls instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his derby.
He sashayed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like kerosene. His dad was standing there with a napkin in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a coo.
"Hi Daddy!" Vernon replied unnaturally. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the shrimp," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra sourdough. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Vernon replied unnaturally. "Do we have the tuna casserole ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his father replied thoughtfully. "It only has to heat for twenty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Vernon replied vacantly. "I'm gonna go to the parlor."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cherries jubilee in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the parlor 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," Vernon responded, as he sat down to his cherries jubilee. "Let's hang lots of sparkly balloons and cover the carpet and the bookcase with golden crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father offhandedly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Francene Ellis. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a sharp knife."
"Bless your heart," Vernon responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sniffle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."