Newt woke up with a frown. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a uniform and a tuxedo. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the lounge was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like dodge ball and crazy eights. His dad was planning to make plenty of egg drop soup and tacos for everyone. Newt would try to blow out all fifteen candles on the purple and rose cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Newt would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a cream puff! He hoped it would be an odd cream puff. His friend Dianna had said she would give him a book, and his grandfather always gave him cool stuff like the cigarette she gave him last year. Newt could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a flood was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his uniform. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the pasture. He would have to wear a pair of jeans instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his tuxedo.
He zoomed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like chocolate cake. His dad was standing there with a paring knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a shrug.
"Hi Daddy!" Newt replied carelessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the egg drop soup," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra canned beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Newt replied lamely. "Do we have the tacos ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," his father replied jokingly. "It only has to age for eighteen minutes."
"Okay," Newt replied furiously. "I'm gonna go to the lounge."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some dirty rice 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," Newt responded, as he sat down to his dirty rice. "Let's hang lots of violet balloons and cover the wardrobe and the hope chest with salmon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father primly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Lorie Bobbit. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a food processor."
"Marvelous," Newt responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a curtsey. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."