Bones woke up with a sneer. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a fez and a stovepipe hat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like cribbage and duck duck goose. His dad was planning to make plenty of crumb cake and tortillas for everyone. Bones would try to blow out all twenty-five candles on the orange and brilliant orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Bones would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a stapler! He hoped it would be a striking stapler. His friend Andrea had said she would give him a firecracker, and his sister-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the feather duster she gave him last year. Bones could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot, sunny day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his fez. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the briar patch. He would have to wear a party hat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his stovepipe hat.
He bounded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like elderberries. His dad was standing there with a piece of cheesecloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a flinch.
"Hi Daddy!" Bones replied surreptitiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the crumb cake," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra tofu. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Bones replied sternly. "Do we have the tortillas ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his father replied nicely. "It only has to roast for forty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Bones replied quickly. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pecan pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the library 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," Bones responded, as he sat down to his pecan pie. "Let's hang lots of striped balloons and cover the TV and the computer with navy blue crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father crazily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Josephine Carter. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a meat tenderizer."
"Gads," Bones responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a jeer. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."