Morgan woke up with a wrinkled nose. 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 flak jacket. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like Parcheesi and red light green light. His dad was planning to make plenty of roast beef and pancakes for everyone. Morgan would try to blow out all nineteen candles on the tan and crimson cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Morgan would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pumpkin! He hoped it would be an original pumpkin. His friend Nookie had said she would give him a Barbie doll, and his grandfather always gave him cool stuff like the toy she gave him last year. Morgan could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a downpour 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 cave. He would have to wear a pocket watch instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his flak jacket.
He tore downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like dill pickles. His dad was standing there with a slotted spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a shout.
"Hi Daddy!" Morgan replied suspiciously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the roast beef," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra chicken. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Morgan replied fearlessly. "Do we have the pancakes ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his father replied unexpectedly. "It only has to marinate for forty-two minutes."
"Okay," Morgan replied neatly. "I'm gonna go to the porch."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fried chicken in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the porch 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," Morgan responded, as he sat down to his fried chicken. "Let's hang lots of yellow balloons and cover the settee and the crib with golden crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father greedily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Vanessa Albrandt. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of chopsticks."
"Tut-tut," Morgan responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sneer. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."