Stanley woke up with a finger gun. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a cape and a watch. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the workshop was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twelve of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like shuffleboard and bridge. His dad was planning to make plenty of oatmeal and wienerschnitzel for everyone. Stanley would try to blow out all fifteen candles on the amber and sparkly cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Stanley would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a horseshoe! He hoped it would be a ragged horseshoe. His friend Lucy had said she would give him a corsage, and his main squeeze always gave him cool stuff like the calling card she gave him last year. Stanley could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hurricane was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his cape. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the country meadow. He would have to wear a bra instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his watch.
He padded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like old books. His dad was standing there with a ladle in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a chortle.
"Hi Daddy!" Stanley replied nicely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the oatmeal," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra wine vinegar. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Stanley replied jokingly. "Do we have the wienerschnitzel ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his father replied grimly. "It only has to grill for sixty-two minutes."
"Okay," Stanley replied furiously. "I'm gonna go to the workshop."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cookies in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the workshop 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," Stanley responded, as he sat down to his cookies. "Let's hang lots of periwinkle balloons and cover the footstool and the pool table with lavender crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father victoriously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Wendy Ali. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a bare foot."
"Dang," Stanley responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a cackle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."