Manny 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 business suit and a bustier. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like Scrabble and trivia. His dad was planning to make plenty of brownies and lime sherbet for everyone. Manny would try to blow out all twelve candles on the olive green and polka dotted cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Manny would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a purse! He hoped it would be an amazing purse. His friend Nelda had said she would give him a pepper grinder, and his dad always gave him cool stuff like the joint she gave him last year. Manny could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pelting rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his business suit. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the moonscape. He would have to wear a pair of cowboy boots instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his bustier.
He scurried downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like aftershave lotion. His dad was standing there with a melon baller in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a curtsey.
"Hi Daddy!" Manny replied grimly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the brownies," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra sweet pickles. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Manny replied suavely. "Do we have the lime sherbet ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his father replied fiercely. "It only has to broil for ten minutes."
"Okay," Manny replied bitterly. "I'm gonna go to the porch."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some roast turkey in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the porch 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," Manny responded, as he sat down to his roast turkey. "Let's hang lots of brown balloons and cover the bench and the dining table with chartreuse crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father gleefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Claudia Funk. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a meat tenderizer."
"Hah," Manny responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sniff. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."