Bud woke up with a raspberry. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a necktie and an award medal. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the linen closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like Mother May I and rummy. His dad was planning to make plenty of tacos and pecan pie for everyone. Bud would try to blow out all thirty-five candles on the navy blue and white cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Bud would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a washrag! He hoped it would be a sleek washrag. His friend Evelyn had said she would give him a purse, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the calling card she gave him last year. Bud could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a typhoon was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his necktie. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the cornfield. He would have to wear a pair of dungarees instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his award medal.
He barrelled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Max Factor. His dad was standing there with a pair of tongs in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with an evil eye.
"Hi Daddy!" Bud replied craftily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the tacos," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra pretzels. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Bud replied steadily. "Do we have the pecan pie ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his father replied languidly. "It only has to boil for eighty minutes."
"Okay," Bud replied sweetly. "I'm gonna go to the linen closet."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some dirty rice in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the linen closet 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," Bud responded, as he sat down to his dirty rice. "Let's hang lots of amber balloons and cover the china hutch and the fainting couch with aqua crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father recklessly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Lori DeGraff. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a meat thermometer."
"Too much," Bud responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a wince. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."