Dustin woke up with a pound of the chest. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of earmuffs and a false beard. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the master bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eighteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like Clue and jump rope. His dad was planning to make plenty of Swiss cheese and tortillas for everyone. Dustin would try to blow out all twenty-seven candles on the orange and turquoise cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Dustin would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pink flamingo! He hoped it would be a gigantic pink flamingo. His friend Kayla had said she would give him a bicycle, and his mother-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the can of shaving cream she gave him last year. Dustin 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 earmuffs. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the arroyo. He would have to wear a bandana instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his false beard.
He darted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like baby lotion. His dad was standing there with a food processor in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a sneeze.
"Hi Daddy!" Dustin replied boldly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Swiss cheese," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra jalapeños. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Dustin replied hopefully. "Do we have the tortillas ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his father replied fondly. "It only has to place on serving dish for nineteen minutes."
"Okay," Dustin replied cheerfully. "I'm gonna go to the master bedroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ice cream 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," Dustin responded, as he sat down to his ice cream. "Let's hang lots of fuchsia balloons and cover the buffet and the piano with emerald green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father numbly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Olive Bratt. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a foot."
"WTF," Dustin responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a hoot. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."