Buster woke up with a smile. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a raincoat and a false beard. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the linen closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited six of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like solitaire and tag. His dad was planning to make plenty of mashed potatoes and corn on the cob for everyone. Buster would try to blow out all twenty-five candles on the red and terra cotta cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Buster would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a diary! He hoped it would be a colossal diary. His friend Madelyn had said she would give him a firecracker, and his grandfather always gave him cool stuff like the piece of candy she gave him last year. Buster could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blanket of mist was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his raincoat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the creek. He would have to wear a big smile instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his false beard.
He whirled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like hairspray. His dad was standing there with a cookie cutter in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a belly laugh.
"Hi Daddy!" Buster replied miserably. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the mashed potatoes," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra egg whites. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Buster replied doubtfully. "Do we have the corn on the cob ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," his father replied unexpectedly. "It only has to smoke for eighty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Buster replied deftly. "I'm gonna go to the linen closet."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken gumbo in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the linen closet 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," Buster responded, as he sat down to his chicken gumbo. "Let's hang lots of brown balloons and cover the pedestal and the TV with rose crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father calmly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Ruth Rudd. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a wooden spoon."
"Ka-ching," Buster responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a hug. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."