Thaddeus woke up with a chortle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a suit of armor and a denim skirt. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the kitchen was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like shuffleboard and golf. His dad was planning to make plenty of pot roast and egg drop soup for everyone. Thaddeus would try to blow out all ten candles on the ivory and ivory cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Thaddeus would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a napkin! He hoped it would be an autographed napkin. His friend Delores had said she would give him a coat, and his grandmother always gave him cool stuff like the toilet plunger she gave him last year. Thaddeus could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pall of doom was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his suit of armor. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the backyard. He would have to wear a pair of roller skates instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his denim skirt.
He flew downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a spring rain. His dad was standing there with an electric paint mixer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a blush.
"Hi Daddy!" Thaddeus replied wryly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pot roast," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra salmon filets. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Thaddeus replied gingerly. "Do we have the egg drop soup ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his father replied boldly. "It only has to sear outside for forty minutes."
"Okay," Thaddeus replied zestily. "I'm gonna go to the kitchen."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some shrimp in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the kitchen 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," Thaddeus responded, as he sat down to his shrimp. "Let's hang lots of aquamarine balloons and cover the buffet and the pedestal with magenta crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father gratefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Rachel Robinson. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cookie cutter."
"Like, totally," Thaddeus responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sniff. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."