Brett 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 swimsuit and a sport coat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the doghouse was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited one of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like musical chairs and rummy. His dad was planning to make plenty of dry toast and macaroni and cheese for everyone. Brett would try to blow out all ten candles on the chartreuse and brown cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Brett would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a paper bag! He hoped it would be a coarse paper bag. His friend Pearl had said she would give him a notebook, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the pair of scissors she gave him last year. Brett could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pall of doom was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his swimsuit. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the mesa. He would have to wear a gown instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his sport coat.
He rolled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like chocolate. His dad was standing there with a pair of tongs in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a snigger.
"Hi Daddy!" Brett replied wryly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the dry toast," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra frozen spinach. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Brett replied sternly. "Do we have the macaroni and cheese ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his father replied pityingly. "It only has to shake for twenty minutes."
"Okay," Brett replied temperamentally. "I'm gonna go to the doghouse."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some omelet in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the doghouse 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," Brett responded, as he sat down to his omelet. "Let's hang lots of jet black balloons and cover the display case and the bath mat with magenta crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father daintily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Beverly Ackerman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a foot."
"Suffering sassafras," Brett responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a simper. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."