Jacob woke up with a giggle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a bedsheet and a kimono. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the nursery was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited ten of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like Snakes and Ladders and Rummy. His dad was planning to make plenty of fondue and roast turkey for everyone. Jacob would try to blow out all twenty-five candles on the terra cotta and tan cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jacob would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a basket! He hoped it would be a polished basket. His friend Iggy had said she would give him a skull, and his grandmother always gave him cool stuff like the ticket she gave him last year. Jacob could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dust storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his bedsheet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the countryside. He would have to wear a pair of shorts instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his kimono.
He jumped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like sour milk. His dad was standing there with a food processor in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a jeer.
"Hi Daddy!" Jacob replied surreptitiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fondue," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra sesame seeds. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jacob replied miserably. "Do we have the roast turkey ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," his father replied sarcastically. "It only has to arrange for eighty minutes."
"Okay," Jacob replied ingeniously. "I'm gonna go to the nursery."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some smoked salmon in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the nursery 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," Jacob responded, as he sat down to his smoked salmon. "Let's hang lots of brown balloons and cover the card table and the chair with emerald green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father fondly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Judy Broghammer. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dull knife."
"Ow," Jacob responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a belly laugh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."