Arthur woke up with a belly laugh. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a ribbon and a diaper. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the attic was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like Monopoly and tag. His dad was planning to make plenty of refried beans and succotash for everyone. Arthur would try to blow out all nine candles on the pea green and terra cotta cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Arthur would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a cardboard box! He hoped it would be a wooden cardboard box. His friend Marvella had said she would give him a bag of potato chips, and his mommy always gave him cool stuff like the pail she gave him last year. Arthur could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his ribbon. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the plateau. He would have to wear an Armani suit instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his diaper.
He jogged downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like plastic. His dad was standing there with a corkscrew in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a bow.
"Hi Daddy!" Arthur replied grimly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the refried beans," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra cream cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Arthur replied clumsily. "Do we have the succotash ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his father replied glibly. "It only has to press for eighty-six minutes."
"Okay," Arthur replied crankily. "I'm gonna go to the attic."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some dry toast in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the attic 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," Arthur responded, as he sat down to his dry toast. "Let's hang lots of lavender balloons and cover the rug and the coffee table with peach crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father bravely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Karla Appleby. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a candy thermometer."
"Whoa," Arthur responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a shout. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."