Nickolas woke up with a shrug. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of gloves and a locket. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the lounge was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited two of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like Candy Land and jump rope. His dad was planning to make plenty of cookies and steak for everyone. Nickolas would try to blow out all three candles on the carrot-orange and teal cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Nickolas would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pom-pom! He hoped it would be a mechanical pom-pom. His friend Shelly had said she would give him a can of sardines, and his sister always gave him cool stuff like the mirror she gave him last year. Nickolas could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of gloves. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the housing development. He would have to wear a pair of socks instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his locket.
He bounded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like mint. His dad was standing there with a knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a hiccup.
"Hi Daddy!" Nickolas replied irritably. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cookies," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra mozzarella cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Nickolas replied properly. "Do we have the steak ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his father replied numbly. "It only has to broil for forty-two minutes."
"Okay," Nickolas replied perkily. "I'm gonna go to the lounge."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lamb curry in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the lounge 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," Nickolas responded, as he sat down to his lamb curry. "Let's hang lots of khaki balloons and cover the billiard table and the stairway with pea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father tearfully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Constance Warren. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dish cloth."
"Wow," Nickolas responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a wrinkled nose. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."