Jordan woke up with a shiver. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a gorilla suit and an Armani suit. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the tool shed was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-six of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like cribbage and pool. His dad was planning to make plenty of egg salad sandwich and fish and chips for everyone. Jordan would try to blow out all five candles on the beige and olive drab cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jordan would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a stuffed bunny! He hoped it would be a jagged stuffed bunny. His friend Carla had said she would give him a bouquet, and his friend always gave him cool stuff like the paintbrush she gave him last year. Jordan could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blanket of mist was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his gorilla suit. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the valley. He would have to wear a black armband instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his Armani suit.
He skittered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like fingernail polish remover. His dad was standing there with a paring knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a glare.
"Hi Daddy!" Jordan replied greedily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the egg salad sandwich," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra Canadian bacon. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jordan replied rapidly. "Do we have the fish and chips ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his father replied humbly. "It only has to boil for eighty-three minutes."
"Okay," Jordan replied perkily. "I'm gonna go to the tool shed."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some beans in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the tool shed 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," Jordan responded, as he sat down to his beans. "Let's hang lots of hot pink balloons and cover the credenza and the rug with teal crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father mysteriously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Penelope O'Sullivan. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a meat tenderizer."
"Help," Jordan responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a chuckle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."