Fred woke up with a blush. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a tuxedo and a hair net. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the dining room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like roulette and chess. His dad was planning to make plenty of lasagna and catfish stew for everyone. Fred would try to blow out all thirteen candles on the fuchsia and purple cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Fred would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bird bath! He hoped it would be a bizarre bird bath. His friend Lindsey had said she would give him a flower, and his sister-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the yo-yo she gave him last year. Fred could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his tuxedo. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the gully. He would have to wear a few original rags instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his hair net.
He scampered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like vanilla. His dad was standing there with a meat tenderizer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a smile.
"Hi Daddy!" Fred replied resignedly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lasagna," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra pinto beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Fred replied stealthily. "Do we have the catfish stew ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," his father replied steadily. "It only has to whirl for one minute."
"Okay," Fred replied solemnly. "I'm gonna go to the dining room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some jambalaya in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dining 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," Fred responded, as he sat down to his jambalaya. "Let's hang lots of polka dotted balloons and cover the hope chest and the umbrella stand with forest green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father nonchalantly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Marla Webb. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric mixer."
"Crud," Fred responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a yawn. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."