Phil 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 big grin and a ribbon. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the laundry room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nineteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like rummy and seven-up. His dad was planning to make plenty of lime sherbet and tuna casserole for everyone. Phil would try to blow out all four candles on the olive green and terra cotta cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Phil would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a toolbox! He hoped it would be a grubby toolbox. His friend Barb had said she would give him an ice cream cone, and his wife always gave him cool stuff like the crystal ball she gave him last year. Phil could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drought was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his big grin. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the range. He would have to wear a suit instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his ribbon.
He dove downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like turpentine. His dad was standing there with a pair of tongs in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a gasp.
"Hi Daddy!" Phil replied needlessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lime sherbet," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra bacon fat. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Phil replied sarcastically. "Do we have the tuna casserole ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his father replied warily. "It only has to poach lightly for eighty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Phil replied speedily. "I'm gonna go to the laundry room."
"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 laundry room 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," Phil responded, as he sat down to his cookies. "Let's hang lots of aqua balloons and cover the cash register and the credenza with carrot-orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father dolefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Lianlin Lopez. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric mixer."
"Dum de dum dum," Phil responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a grin. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."