Rutherford woke up with a giggle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a helmet and a thong. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the den was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited four of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like hearts and bridge. His dad was planning to make plenty of applesauce and applesauce for everyone. Rutherford would try to blow out all four candles on the fuchsia and emerald green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Rutherford would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a toothbrush! He hoped it would be an original toothbrush. His friend Natalie had said she would give him a hair dryer, and his main squeeze always gave him cool stuff like the dollar bill she gave him last year. Rutherford could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a tornado was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his helmet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the lakeside. He would have to wear a bib instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his thong.
He skipped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like coffee. His dad was standing there with a candy thermometer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a tear.
"Hi Daddy!" Rutherford replied crossly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the applesauce," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra butter. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Rutherford replied dolorously. "Do we have the applesauce ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his father replied urgently. "It only has to whirl for forty-two minutes."
"Okay," Rutherford replied woodenly. "I'm gonna go to the den."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken soup in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the den 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," Rutherford responded, as he sat down to his chicken soup. "Let's hang lots of olive green balloons and cover the stairway and the dining table with turquoise crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father softly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Toni Merton. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a napkin."
"Ka-ching," Rutherford responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a chuckle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."