Conner woke up with a wince. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a set of camo fatigues and a cap. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like pool and doctor. His dad was planning to make plenty of omelet and hamburgers for everyone. Conner would try to blow out all thirty-three candles on the navy blue and amber cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Conner would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a balloon! He hoped it would be a musty balloon. His friend Meredith had said she would give him a saddle, and his sister always gave him cool stuff like the washrag she gave him last year. Conner could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainbow was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his set of camo fatigues. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the hillside. He would have to wear a blouse instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his cap.
He scampered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a locker room. His dad was standing there with a dish cloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a sniffle.
"Hi Daddy!" Conner replied sorrowfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the omelet," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra baking soda. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Conner replied warily. "Do we have the hamburgers ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his father replied obediently. "It only has to steam for sixty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Conner replied zestily. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chopped liver in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the 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," Conner responded, as he sat down to his chopped liver. "Let's hang lots of blue balloons and cover the bathtub and the toilet with golden crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father nicely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Susanne Zwiebel. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a food processor."
"Neato," Conner responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a raspberry. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."