Steven woke up with a hug. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a corsage and a heavy layer of makeup. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the garage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seventeen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like badminton and Rummy. His dad was planning to make plenty of tacos and macaroni and cheese for everyone. Steven would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the brown and golden cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Steven would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pair of fuzzy dice! He hoped it would be an art deco pair of fuzzy dice. His friend Deborah had said she would give him a primrose, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the fingernail clipper she gave him last year. Steven could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his corsage. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the buffalo wallow. He would have to wear a poodle skirt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his heavy layer of makeup.
He padded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like beef stew. His dad was standing there with a strainer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a finger gun.
"Hi Daddy!" Steven replied peevishly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the tacos," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra kale. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Steven replied timidly. "Do we have the macaroni and cheese ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his father replied diligently. "It only has to heat in microwave for two minutes."
"Okay," Steven replied glibly. "I'm gonna go to the garage."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cabbage rolls in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the garage 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," Steven responded, as he sat down to his cabbage rolls. "Let's hang lots of white balloons and cover the couch and the umbrella stand with sea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father solemnly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Evelyn Prince. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato peeler."
"Jumpin’ Jehosaphat," Steven responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a belly laugh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."