Floyd 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 pair of pajamas and a cap. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the doghouse was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like ring around the rosie and croquet. His dad was planning to make plenty of shrimp and chopped liver for everyone. Floyd would try to blow out all twenty-one candles on the indigo and azure cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Floyd would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a box of Kleenex! He hoped it would be a smelly box of Kleenex. His friend Midge had said she would give him a coloring book, and his grandpa always gave him cool stuff like the cowbell she gave him last year. Floyd could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sandstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of pajamas. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the dump. He would have to wear a belly button jewel instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his cap.
He loped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a feed lot. His dad was standing there with an ice pick in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a shrug.
"Hi Daddy!" Floyd replied boisterously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the shrimp," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra kielbasa. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Floyd replied woefully. "Do we have the chopped liver ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his father replied warily. "It only has to heat for thirty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Floyd replied gingerly. "I'm gonna go to the doghouse."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some enchiladas in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the doghouse 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," Floyd responded, as he sat down to his enchiladas. "Let's hang lots of blue balloons and cover the wine rack and the billiard table with red crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father sharply. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Mirabel Andrews. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a foot."
"Meh," Floyd responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a shrug. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."