Hugo woke up with a hoot. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a dunce cap and a tarboosh. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the patio was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like seven-up and shuffleboard. His dad was planning to make plenty of moo goo gai pan and oyster on the half-shell for everyone. Hugo would try to blow out all five candles on the polka dotted and white cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Hugo would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Van Gogh! He hoped it would be a bulky Van Gogh. His friend Betsy had said she would give him a magazine, and his grandfather always gave him cool stuff like the hair dryer she gave him last year. Hugo 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 dunce cap. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the steppe. He would have to wear a camisole instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his tarboosh.
He bounded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like wine. His dad was standing there with a candy thermometer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a frown.
"Hi Daddy!" Hugo replied slyly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the moo goo gai pan," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra crabmeat. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Hugo replied thankfully. "Do we have the oyster on the half-shell ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," his father replied rapidly. "It only has to marinate for thirty-one minutes."
"Okay," Hugo replied ignobly. "I'm gonna go to the patio."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some strawberry shortcake in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the patio 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," Hugo responded, as he sat down to his strawberry shortcake. "Let's hang lots of striped balloons and cover the table and the hope chest with olive green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father nonchalantly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Vivian Zedong. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pastry blender."
"Fine," Hugo responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a flush. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."