Corbin woke up with a raised eyebrow. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a heavy layer of makeup and a fur coat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the boudoir was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like shuffleboard and shuffleboard. His dad was planning to make plenty of shrimp and succotash for everyone. Corbin would try to blow out all seven candles on the carrot-orange and carrot-orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Corbin would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a firecracker! He hoped it would be a smooth firecracker. His friend Nettie had said she would give him a piano, and his sister-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the bag she gave him last year. Corbin could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainbow was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his heavy layer of makeup. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the meadow. He would have to wear a pair of earmuffs instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his fur coat.
He flounced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like creosote. His dad was standing there with an egg cutter in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a crow.
"Hi Daddy!" Corbin replied sharply. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the shrimp," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra pinto beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Corbin replied neatly. "Do we have the succotash ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his father replied warily. "It only has to roast for fifty-three minutes."
"Okay," Corbin replied speedily. "I'm gonna go to the boudoir."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken chow mein in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the boudoir 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," Corbin responded, as he sat down to his chicken chow mein. "Let's hang lots of hot pink balloons and cover the ironing board and the rocking chair with green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father bravely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Shelley Barcelo. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato masher."
"Of course," Corbin responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a raspberry. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."