Mac woke up with a sniff. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a fedora and a pair of gloves. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like leapfrog and ring around the rosie. His dad was planning to make plenty of candy and oatmeal for everyone. Mac would try to blow out all six candles on the amber and chocolate brown cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Mac would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a crutch! He hoped it would be a coarse crutch. His friend Michelle had said she would give him a ping-pong paddle, and his mommy always gave him cool stuff like the flashlight she gave him last year. Mac could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his fedora. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the cornfield. He would have to wear a pair of false eyelashes instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of gloves.
He crawled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rotten fish. His dad was standing there with a melon baller in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a crow.
"Hi Daddy!" Mac replied arrogantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the candy," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra salmon. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Mac replied positively. "Do we have the oatmeal ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his father replied crazily. "It only has to allow to rise in warm place for several hours for eighty-five minutes."
"Okay," Mac replied vacantly. "I'm gonna go to the bedroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken soup in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the 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," Mac responded, as he sat down to his chicken soup. "Let's hang lots of golden balloons and cover the pool table and the sofa with orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father cruelly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Oona Lister. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato peeler."
"Yeeshka," Mac responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a titter. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."