Bill woke up with a chuckle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of culottes and a big grin. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like Parcheesi and Simon Says. His dad was planning to make plenty of oatmeal and omelet for everyone. Bill would try to blow out all fifteen candles on the blue and silver cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Bill would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a sponge! He hoped it would be a stolen sponge. His friend Clara had said she would give him a stick of gum, and his aunt always gave him cool stuff like the comb she gave him last year. Bill could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainbow was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of culottes. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the seashore. He would have to wear a toupee instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his big grin.
He ran downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cinnamon rolls. His dad was standing there with a corkscrew in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a wrinkled nose.
"Hi Daddy!" Bill replied nicely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the oatmeal," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra kielbasa. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Bill replied sadly. "Do we have the omelet ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his father replied intensely. "It only has to sauté for one minute."
"Okay," Bill replied sadly. "I'm gonna go to the bedroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some squash blossom soup in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the 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," Bill responded, as he sat down to his squash blossom soup. "Let's hang lots of tan balloons and cover the rug and the chair with striped crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father noisily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Chelsea Custer. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a strainer."
"Praise the Lord," Bill responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a frown. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."