Zeke woke up with a wink. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a towel and a pair of Groucho glasses. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the ballroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like croquet and charades. His dad was planning to make plenty of ham and scrambled eggs for everyone. Zeke would try to blow out all seventeen candles on the polka dotted and violet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Zeke would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bag! He hoped it would be a flaky bag. His friend Leonie had said she would give him a bird feeder, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the nail she gave him last year. Zeke could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a typhoon was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his towel. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the marsh. He would have to wear a letter jacket instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of Groucho glasses.
He stormed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like something died. His dad was standing there with a strainer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a simper.
"Hi Daddy!" Zeke replied anxiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ham," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra fresh spinach. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Zeke replied daringly. "Do we have the scrambled eggs ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his father replied daintily. "It only has to freeze for fifty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Zeke replied urgently. "I'm gonna go to the ballroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some doughnuts in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the ballroom 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," Zeke responded, as he sat down to his doughnuts. "Let's hang lots of aqua balloons and cover the wardrobe and the table with violet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father boisterously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Mandy Hastings. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a garlic press."
"I'm so sure," Zeke responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a cringe. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."