Oscar woke up with a growl. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a space suit and a pair of culottes. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the boudoir was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited four of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like follow the leader and hide and seek. His dad was planning to make plenty of pecan pie and spaghetti for everyone. Oscar would try to blow out all eight candles on the turquoise and periwinkle cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Oscar would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a protest sign! He hoped it would be a plastic protest sign. His friend Madison had said she would give him a rag, and his friend always gave him cool stuff like the flag she gave him last year. Oscar could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a thunderstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his space suit. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the field. He would have to wear a big grin instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of culottes.
He traipsed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cotton candy. His dad was standing there with a meat thermometer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a beam.
"Hi Daddy!" Oscar replied zestily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pecan pie," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra turkey. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Oscar replied quietly. "Do we have the spaghetti ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his father replied defiantly. "It only has to heat in microwave for ten minutes."
"Okay," Oscar replied confidently. "I'm gonna go to the boudoir."
"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 boudoir 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," Oscar responded, as he sat down to his cookies. "Let's hang lots of fuchsia balloons and cover the wine rack and the ping-pong table with blue crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father joyously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Evelyn Locke. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pastry blender."
"Durn it," Oscar responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a growl. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."