Ryan woke up with a snicker. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a wizard's hat and a gorilla suit. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the laundry room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like cribbage and cribbage. His dad was planning to make plenty of fried okra and fried chicken for everyone. Ryan would try to blow out all thirty-three candles on the peach and indigo cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Ryan would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a joint! He hoped it would be a fuzzy joint. His friend Charlene had said she would give him a vase, and his dad always gave him cool stuff like the bell she gave him last year. Ryan could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a windstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his wizard's hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the cliff. He would have to wear a diamond bracelet instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his gorilla suit.
He went downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rubbing alcohol. His dad was standing there with a grater in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a shiver.
"Hi Daddy!" Ryan replied vigorously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fried okra," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra clam juice. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Ryan replied miserably. "Do we have the fried chicken ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his father replied proudly. "It only has to sear outside for fifty-six minutes."
"Okay," Ryan replied repeatedly. "I'm gonna go to the laundry room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tortillas in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the laundry room 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," Ryan responded, as he sat down to his tortillas. "Let's hang lots of camouflage balloons and cover the desk and the credenza with white crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father pitifully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Alisa Austin. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a meat tenderizer."
"Leapin' lizards," Ryan responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sniffle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."