Sam woke up with a bound. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a sarong and a corsage. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the pool room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like billiards and Snakes and Ladders. His dad was planning to make plenty of refried beans and steak for everyone. Sam would try to blow out all twenty-one candles on the sparkly and aquamarine cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Sam would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a telephone! He hoped it would be a rigid telephone. His friend Callie had said she would give him a napkin, and his grandfather always gave him cool stuff like the teacup she gave him last year. Sam 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 sarong. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the mesa. He would have to wear a pair of boxing gloves instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his corsage.
He swaggered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like gingersnaps. His dad was standing there with a dish cloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a snigger.
"Hi Daddy!" Sam replied innocently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the refried beans," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra ham. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Sam replied hysterically. "Do we have the steak ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," his father replied unnaturally. "It only has to scramble for seventeen minutes."
"Okay," Sam replied cruelly. "I'm gonna go to the pool room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some applesauce in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the pool room 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," Sam responded, as he sat down to his applesauce. "Let's hang lots of brown balloons and cover the dishwasher and the ironing board with teal crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father obediently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Pleasance Fisher. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a knife."
"Moo," Sam 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."