Perry woke up with a growl. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a tunic and a hoodie. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the parlor 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 seven-up and backgammon. His dad was planning to make plenty of steak and cherries jubilee for everyone. Perry would try to blow out all twenty-seven candles on the violet and metallic red cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Perry would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bicycle! He hoped it would be a broken bicycle. His friend Doralene had said she would give him an iPad, and his aunt always gave him cool stuff like the twig she gave him last year. Perry could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a flood was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his tunic. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the prairie. He would have to wear a sari instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his hoodie.
He walked downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like lilies. His dad was standing there with a melon baller in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a face palm.
"Hi Daddy!" Perry replied haughtily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the steak," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra bean sprouts. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Perry replied cruelly. "Do we have the cherries jubilee ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his father replied grandly. "It only has to blanch for seventy-nine minutes."
"Okay," Perry replied fiercely. "I'm gonna go to the parlor."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some mashed potatoes in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the parlor 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," Perry responded, as he sat down to his mashed potatoes. "Let's hang lots of blue balloons and cover the water bed and the washstand with ivory crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father ingeniously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Marcy Bunyan. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato peeler."
"Huzzah," Perry responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a power fist. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."