Christopher woke up with a beam. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a gold medal and a gas mask. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the master bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like hearts and ring around the rosie. His dad was planning to make plenty of lasagna and lamb curry for everyone. Christopher would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the khaki and pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Christopher would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a feather duster! He hoped it would be a porcelain feather duster. His friend Bella had said she would give him a flag, and his mother always gave him cool stuff like the diary she gave him last year. Christopher could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pall of doom was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his gold medal. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the hillside. He would have to wear a heavy layer of makeup instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his gas mask.
He rolled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like liver and onions. His dad was standing there with a mixing spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a roar.
"Hi Daddy!" Christopher replied thankfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lasagna," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra raisins. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Christopher replied pityingly. "Do we have the lamb curry ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," his father replied truculently. "It only has to place on serving dish for forty-six minutes."
"Okay," Christopher replied grudgingly. "I'm gonna go to the master bathroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken gumbo in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the master bathroom 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," Christopher responded, as he sat down to his chicken gumbo. "Let's hang lots of burgundy balloons and cover the dishwasher and the recliner with aquamarine crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father hysterically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Andrea Crabtree. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a whisk."
"Help," Christopher responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with an evil eye. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."