William woke up with a squint. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of roller skates and a wristwatch. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the master bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited six of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like ring around the rosie and Scrabble. His dad was planning to make plenty of lobster bisque and refried beans for everyone. William would try to blow out all eight candles on the pink and khaki cake. While the guests were eating their cake, William would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a dish! He hoped it would be a torn dish. His friend Sandi had said she would give him an ashtray, and his mother-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the flash drive she gave him last year. William could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a gale was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of roller skates. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the island. He would have to wear a pair of knickers instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his wristwatch.
He reeled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like sour milk. His dad was standing there with a piece of cheesecloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a death glare.
"Hi Daddy!" William replied gracefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lobster bisque," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra ground beef. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," William replied flightily. "Do we have the refried beans ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his father replied woodenly. "It only has to refrigerate overnight for sixty minutes."
"Okay," William replied pitifully. "I'm gonna go to the master bedroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some French fries in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the master bedroom 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," William responded, as he sat down to his French fries. "Let's hang lots of lime-green balloons and cover the rocking chair and the wine rack with violet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father oddly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Hattie Cotton. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dish cloth."
"Eureka," William responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a crow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."