Albert woke up with a kiss. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a Panama hat and a belt. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the lounge was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like hide and seek and poker. His dad was planning to make plenty of macaroni and cotton candy for everyone. Albert would try to blow out all twenty-four candles on the teal and golden cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Albert would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a crutch! He hoped it would be a rusty crutch. His friend Lori had said she would give him a peace pipe, and his aunt always gave him cool stuff like the notepad she gave him last year. Albert could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a bit of precipitation was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his Panama hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the savanna. He would have to wear a bowler hat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his belt.
He strode downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like liver and onions. His dad was standing there with a foot in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a frown.
"Hi Daddy!" Albert replied primly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the macaroni," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra salmon filets. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Albert replied cautiously. "Do we have the cotton candy ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his father replied nicely. "It only has to blend for twenty-four minutes."
"Okay," Albert replied rapidly. "I'm gonna go to the lounge."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some smoked salmon in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the lounge 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," Albert responded, as he sat down to his smoked salmon. "Let's hang lots of salmon balloons and cover the cash register and the chest of drawers with beige crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father angrily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Nicole Higgenbottom. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric paint mixer."
"Thpft," Albert responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a grimace. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."