Howard woke up with a bound. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a sundress and a vest. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the boiler room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fifteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like Russian roulette and crazy eights. His dad was planning to make plenty of ham and hors d'oeuvre for everyone. Howard would try to blow out all twelve candles on the jet black and grey cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Howard would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a chamber pot! He hoped it would be a hefty chamber pot. His friend Kirsten had said she would give him a tote bag, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the feather duster she gave him last year. Howard could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dense fog was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his sundress. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the plateau. He would have to wear a bridal gown instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his vest.
He slunk downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a papermill. His dad was standing there with a dish cloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a wink.
"Hi Daddy!" Howard replied cautiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ham," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra peeled carrots. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Howard replied silently. "Do we have the hors d'oeuvre ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his father replied gracefully. "It only has to roast for twenty-five minutes."
"Okay," Howard replied properly. "I'm gonna go to the boiler room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ice cream in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the boiler 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," Howard responded, as he sat down to his ice cream. "Let's hang lots of chartreuse balloons and cover the piano and the cash register with fuchsia crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father smoothly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Stormy Lundy. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a mixing spoon."
"Rooster feathers," Howard responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a dope slap. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."