Manny woke up with a hoot. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of sandals and a ribbon. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the den was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like croquet and doctor. His dad was planning to make plenty of prune pudding and cotton candy for everyone. Manny would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the fuchsia and pea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Manny would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a ping-pong paddle! He hoped it would be an electric ping-pong paddle. His friend Carla had said she would give him a toilet plunger, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the map she gave him last year. Manny could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a lightning storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of sandals. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the range. He would have to wear a pocket watch instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his ribbon.
He sashayed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like marijuana. His dad was standing there with a candy thermometer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a backward glance.
"Hi Daddy!" Manny replied obediently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the prune pudding," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra Italian seasoning. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Manny replied sourly. "Do we have the cotton candy ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his father replied pityingly. "It only has to poach lightly for eighty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Manny replied hastily. "I'm gonna go to the den."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pie a la mode in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the den 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," Manny responded, as he sat down to his pie a la mode. "Let's hang lots of grey balloons and cover the coat rack and the rocking chair with salmon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father despondently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Katie Smith. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a fork."
"Totally rad," Manny responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a backward glance. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."