Arnie woke up with a yawn. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of Crocs and a pair of roller skates. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the outhouse 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 crazy eights and duck duck goose. His dad was planning to make plenty of egg salad sandwich and catfish stew for everyone. Arnie would try to blow out all nine candles on the purple and crimson cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Arnie would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a screwdriver! He hoped it would be a sleek screwdriver. His friend Bev had said she would give him a shovel, and his girlfriend always gave him cool stuff like the grease gun she gave him last year. Arnie could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sleet storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of Crocs. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the arroyo. He would have to wear a bra instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of roller skates.
He dove downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like lilacs. His dad was standing there with a cheesecloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a kiss.
"Hi Daddy!" Arnie replied coldly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the egg salad sandwich," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra clams. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Arnie replied primly. "Do we have the catfish stew ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his father replied anxiously. "It only has to bake at 450 degrees F for two minutes."
"Okay," Arnie replied elatedly. "I'm gonna go to the outhouse."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some shrimp in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the outhouse 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," Arnie responded, as he sat down to his shrimp. "Let's hang lots of pink balloons and cover the cushion and the china hutch with golden crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father confidently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, April Cradduck. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a turkey baster."
"Gee," Arnie 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."