Stu woke up with a grunt. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a party hat and a hood. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the rec room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like poker and rummy. His dad was planning to make plenty of waffles and cornbread for everyone. Stu would try to blow out all eleven candles on the violet and ivory cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Stu would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a cookbook! He hoped it would be a hand-carved cookbook. His friend Mia had said she would give him a Frisbee, and his cousin always gave him cool stuff like the feather she gave him last year. Stu 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 party hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the path. He would have to wear a cloak instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his hood.
He climbed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Revlon. His dad was standing there with a sharp knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a dope slap.
"Hi Daddy!" Stu replied stealthily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the waffles," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra grated Romano cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Stu replied nimbly. "Do we have the cornbread ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his father replied thoughtfully. "It only has to deep fry for forty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Stu replied solemnly. "I'm gonna go to the rec room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some smoked salmon in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the rec 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," Stu responded, as he sat down to his smoked salmon. "Let's hang lots of carrot-orange balloons and cover the display case and the ottoman with indigo crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father temperamentally. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Savannah Metzger. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric paint mixer."
"Gesundheit," Stu responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a laugh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."