Alan woke up with a chuckle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of Bermuda shorts and a tool belt. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the hall was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited four of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like bridge and Rummy. His dad was planning to make plenty of duck a l'orange and dirty rice for everyone. Alan would try to blow out all thirty-one candles on the beige and pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Alan would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a jar of olives! He hoped it would be a leather jar of olives. His friend Delores had said she would give him a cookbook, and his friend always gave him cool stuff like the padlock she gave him last year. Alan 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 pair of Bermuda shorts. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the glen. He would have to wear a smartwatch instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his tool belt.
He tiptoed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like toast. His dad was standing there with a knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a hoot.
"Hi Daddy!" Alan replied surreptitiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the duck a l'orange," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra shallots. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Alan replied gingerly. "Do we have the dirty rice ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his father replied gratefully. "It only has to toast for two minutes."
"Okay," Alan replied strictly. "I'm gonna go to the hall."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken soup in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the hall 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," Alan responded, as he sat down to his chicken soup. "Let's hang lots of magenta balloons and cover the beanbag chair and the end table with khaki crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father repeatedly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Avery Bartholomew. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato peeler."
"Beats me," Alan responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with an evil eye. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."