Dave woke up with a flinch. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a moustache and a visor. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the solarium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like solitaire and dodge ball. His dad was planning to make plenty of oyster on the half-shell and scrambled eggs for everyone. Dave would try to blow out all twenty-nine candles on the amber and hot pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Dave would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a wrench! He hoped it would be an electric wrench. His friend Ana had said she would give him a bowling ball, and his mother-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the iPad she gave him last year. Dave could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a driving rain was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his moustache. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the stream. He would have to wear a beanie instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his visor.
He ran downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like sauerkraut. His dad was standing there with a dull knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a smack.
"Hi Daddy!" Dave replied hysterically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the oyster on the half-shell," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra cream of mushroom soup. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Dave replied innocently. "Do we have the scrambled eggs ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his father replied fervently. "It only has to melt for seven minutes."
"Okay," Dave replied repeatedly. "I'm gonna go to the solarium."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tofu in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the solarium 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," Dave responded, as he sat down to his tofu. "Let's hang lots of khaki balloons and cover the pillow and the ironing board with periwinkle crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father timidly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Chris Agnew. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a garlic press."
"Maybe," Dave responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a caress. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."