Tex woke up with a shout. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a blanket and a mortarboard. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the workshop was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like golf and musical chairs. His dad was planning to make plenty of enchiladas and clam chowder for everyone. Tex would try to blow out all twenty candles on the chocolate brown and scarlet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Tex would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bone! He hoped it would be a hand-made bone. His friend Alyssa had said she would give him a compass, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the bird feeder she gave him last year. Tex could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a period of warm weather was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his blanket. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the treetop. He would have to wear a wedding dress instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his mortarboard.
He galumphed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like fingernail polish remover. His dad was standing there with a cheesecloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a blush.
"Hi Daddy!" Tex replied roughly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the enchiladas," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra clam juice. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Tex replied dreamily. "Do we have the clam chowder ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," his father replied cautiously. "It only has to age for five minutes."
"Okay," Tex replied doubtfully. "I'm gonna go to the workshop."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some hot dogs 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," Tex responded, as he sat down to his hot dogs. "Let's hang lots of hot pink balloons and cover the rug and the rug with beige crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father majestically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Sissy Bennett. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an oven mitt."
"Please," Tex responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sigh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."