Horatio woke up with a raised eyebrow. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a visor and a jumper. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the conservatory was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited two of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like shuffleboard and pool. His dad was planning to make plenty of bonbons and Cheerios for everyone. Horatio would try to blow out all twenty-eight candles on the aquamarine and silver cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Horatio would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a diagram! He hoped it would be a decrepit diagram. His friend Michaela had said she would give him a remote control, and his grandpa always gave him cool stuff like the stopwatch she gave him last year. Horatio could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sandstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his visor. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the grassy knoll. He would have to wear a big grin instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his jumper.
He skipped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like freshly baked cookies. His dad was standing there with a spatula in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a cheer.
"Hi Daddy!" Horatio replied warily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the bonbons," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra pecan pieces. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Horatio replied bravely. "Do we have the Cheerios ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his father replied cruelly. "It only has to blanch for twenty-three minutes."
"Okay," Horatio replied lickety-split. "I'm gonna go to the conservatory."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some sauerkraut in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the conservatory 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," Horatio responded, as he sat down to his sauerkraut. "Let's hang lots of chartreuse balloons and cover the bathtub and the fainting couch with polka dotted crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father sympathetically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Giselle Bushnell. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato masher."
"I'll drink to that," Horatio responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a smile. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."