Albert woke up with a tear. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a bib and a locket. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the living room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seventeen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like doctor and Russian roulette. His dad was planning to make plenty of duck a l'orange and pot roast for everyone. Albert would try to blow out all eight candles on the lime-green and beige cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Albert would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a fingernail clipper! He hoped it would be a bulky fingernail clipper. His friend Rose had said she would give him a file folder, and his sister-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the dollar bill she gave him last year. Albert could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hailstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his bib. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the neighborhood. He would have to wear a bedsheet instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his locket.
He set out downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like baby powder. His dad was standing there with a corkscrew in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a power fist.
"Hi Daddy!" Albert replied shakily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the duck a l'orange," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra ramen noodles. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Albert replied humbly. "Do we have the pot roast ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his father replied doubtfully. "It only has to roast for thirty-two minutes."
"Okay," Albert replied crankily. "I'm gonna go to the living room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some shrimp in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the living 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," Albert responded, as he sat down to his shrimp. "Let's hang lots of camouflage balloons and cover the ottoman and the beanbag chair with grey crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father deliberately. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Scarlett Barnes. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato peeler."
"@#%#^@%$@!," Albert responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a grunt. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."