Timothy 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 tarboosh and a uniform. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the dungeon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like hide and seek and cribbage. His dad was planning to make plenty of tortillas and chicken soup for everyone. Timothy would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the crimson and aquamarine cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Timothy would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a ping-pong paddle! He hoped it would be a stolen ping-pong paddle. His friend Audrey had said she would give him a toy, and his sister-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the twig she gave him last year. Timothy could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a lightning storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his tarboosh. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the countryside. He would have to wear a midi skirt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his uniform.
He strode downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like enchiladas. His dad was standing there with a chopstick in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a snicker.
"Hi Daddy!" Timothy replied elatedly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the tortillas," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra corn oil. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Timothy replied blissfully. "Do we have the chicken soup ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his father replied curiously. "It only has to blend for fifty-two minutes."
"Okay," Timothy replied unabashedly. "I'm gonna go to the dungeon."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some wienerschnitzel in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dungeon 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," Timothy responded, as he sat down to his wienerschnitzel. "Let's hang lots of amber balloons and cover the coffee table and the bed with lime-green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father mysteriously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Calista Mann. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a napkin."
"Fie," Timothy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with an air kiss. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."