William woke up with a shout. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a sombrero and a stethoscope. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like marbles and poker. His dad was planning to make plenty of blueberry pie and prune pudding for everyone. William would try to blow out all three candles on the teal and violet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, William would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Bible! He hoped it would be a porcelain Bible. His friend Lucille had said she would give him a flash drive, and his aunt always gave him cool stuff like the toothbrush she gave him last year. William could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a thunderstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his sombrero. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the housing development. He would have to wear a skeleton costume instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his stethoscope.
He rushed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a hospital. His dad was standing there with a potato peeler in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a coo.
"Hi Daddy!" William replied shakily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the blueberry pie," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra rosemary. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," William replied truculently. "Do we have the prune pudding ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his father replied dubiously. "It only has to scramble for thirty-six minutes."
"Okay," William replied recklessly. "I'm gonna go to the closet."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some scrambled eggs in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the closet 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 scrambled eggs. "Let's hang lots of burgundy balloons and cover the ottoman and the futon with amber crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father wryly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Tina Flynn. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric paint mixer."
"Unbelievable," William responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a blush. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."