Lars woke up with a gurgle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a set of scrubs and a derby. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-six of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like chess and poker. His dad was planning to make plenty of cherries jubilee and pie a la mode for everyone. Lars would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the camouflage and black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Lars would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a paintbrush! He hoped it would be a primitive paintbrush. His friend Josephine had said she would give him a pair of pliers, and his grandmother always gave him cool stuff like the hair dryer she gave him last year. Lars could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dust storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his set of scrubs. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the battlefield. He would have to wear a sport coat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his derby.
He ambled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a stable. His dad was standing there with a sharp knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a pound of the chest.
"Hi Daddy!" Lars replied obediently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cherries jubilee," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra sugar. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Lars replied despondently. "Do we have the pie a la mode ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," his father replied perkily. "It only has to age for forty-five minutes."
"Okay," Lars replied dolefully. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pumpkin pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the bathroom 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," Lars responded, as he sat down to his pumpkin pie. "Let's hang lots of amber balloons and cover the carpet and the file cabinet with turquoise crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father languidly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Mabel Quill. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric mixer."
"Ahh," Lars responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sniffle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."