Rufus woke up with a face palm. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of Crocs and a coat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the family room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like hide and seek and rummy. His dad was planning to make plenty of pie a la mode and lamb curry for everyone. Rufus would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the azure and pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Rufus would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a crystal ball! He hoped it would be an automatic crystal ball. His friend Tiffany had said she would give him a flyswatter, and his mother-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the piece of candy she gave him last year. Rufus could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of Crocs. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the pond. He would have to wear a scarf instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his coat.
He strolled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like baked beans. His dad was standing there with a pair of tongs in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a yawn.
"Hi Daddy!" Rufus replied urgently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pie a la mode," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra salmon filets. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Rufus replied arrogantly. "Do we have the lamb curry ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his father replied timidly. "It only has to spoon into container for fifty-two minutes."
"Okay," Rufus replied unabashedly. "I'm gonna go to the family room."
"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 family room 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," Rufus responded, as he sat down to his hot dogs. "Let's hang lots of olive green balloons and cover the pillow and the canopy bed with peach crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father caustically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Anastasia Barbee. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a Sham-Wow!."
"Goodness," Rufus responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a raspberry. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."