Carl woke up with a kiss. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a cheerleader's uniform and a pair of galoshes. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the nursery was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited sixteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like shuffleboard and cribbage. His dad was planning to make plenty of biscuits and gravy and pecan pie for everyone. Carl would try to blow out all fourteen candles on the forest green and scarlet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Carl would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a roll of duct tape! He hoped it would be a hand-painted roll of duct tape. His friend Kylie had said she would give him a chain, and his wife always gave him cool stuff like the fountain pen she gave him last year. Carl could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sandstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his cheerleader's uniform. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the path. He would have to wear a corsage instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of galoshes.
He leapt downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like incense. His dad was standing there with a cookie cutter in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a wink.
"Hi Daddy!" Carl replied carelessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the biscuits and gravy," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra ground lamb. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Carl replied furiously. "Do we have the pecan pie ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," his father replied truculently. "It only has to whirl for eighty-two minutes."
"Okay," Carl replied charmingly. "I'm gonna go to the nursery."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken soup in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the nursery 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," Carl responded, as he sat down to his chicken soup. "Let's hang lots of rose balloons and cover the washstand and the bookshelf with purple crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father sternly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Gina Brazil. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of chopsticks."
"Weird," Carl responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a fist bump. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."