Gino woke up with a shiver. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a T-shirt and a pair of false eyelashes. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the master bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-five of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like tag and baseball. His dad was planning to make plenty of corn on the cob and fondue for everyone. Gino would try to blow out all nine candles on the terra cotta and chartreuse cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Gino would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a key ring! He hoped it would be a brittle key ring. His friend Angie had said she would give him a baby doll, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the ball she gave him last year. Gino 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 T-shirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the creek. He would have to wear a belly button jewel instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of false eyelashes.
He struggled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Magic Markers. His dad was standing there with a food processor in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a titter.
"Hi Daddy!" Gino replied boldly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the corn on the cob," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra hard-cooked eggs. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Gino replied wryly. "Do we have the fondue ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his father replied tensely. "It only has to melt for seventy minutes."
"Okay," Gino replied sorrowfully. "I'm gonna go to the master bedroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some brownies in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the master bedroom 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," Gino responded, as he sat down to his brownies. "Let's hang lots of tan balloons and cover the catbird seat and the washing machine with aqua crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father greedily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Teresa Barber. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a whisk."
"Oops," Gino responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a blush. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."