Jerry woke up with a wag of the finger. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a stovepipe hat and a hood. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the workshop was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like bridge and battleship. His dad was planning to make plenty of bread and butter and hamburgers for everyone. Jerry would try to blow out all eight candles on the sea green and yellow cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jerry would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an amulet! He hoped it would be a filthy amulet. His friend Nettie had said she would give him a can of sardines, and his wife always gave him cool stuff like the backpack she gave him last year. Jerry could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a downpour was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his stovepipe hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the river. He would have to wear a hat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his hood.
He made a beeline downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rose petals. His dad was standing there with a basting brush in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a backward glance.
"Hi Daddy!" Jerry replied accidentally. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the bread and butter," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra white rice. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jerry replied wildly. "Do we have the hamburgers ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his father replied accidentally. "It only has to blanch for nineteen minutes."
"Okay," Jerry replied lovingly. "I'm gonna go to the workshop."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some falafel in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the workshop 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," Jerry responded, as he sat down to his falafel. "Let's hang lots of tan balloons and cover the footstool and the chair with magenta crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father swiftly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Jasmine Frank. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a slotted spoon."
"Yikes," Jerry responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a stiff upper lip. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."