Jeffrey woke up with a wag of the finger. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a Superman costume and a pair of sweatpants. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the tool shed was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like leapfrog and Clue. His dad was planning to make plenty of chicken gumbo and duck a l'orange for everyone. Jeffrey would try to blow out all eighteen candles on the salmon and peach cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jeffrey would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a chess set! He hoped it would be an old chess set. His friend Kaylee had said she would give him a cigar, and his mom always gave him cool stuff like the notepad she gave him last year. Jeffrey 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 Superman costume. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the path. He would have to wear a diamond necklace instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of sweatpants.
He bolted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like tobacco. His dad was standing there with a candy thermometer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a honk.
"Hi Daddy!" Jeffrey replied speedily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken gumbo," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra wasabi powder. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jeffrey replied sternly. "Do we have the duck a l'orange ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his father replied blissfully. "It only has to shake for forty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Jeffrey replied wryly. "I'm gonna go to the tool shed."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some candy in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the tool shed 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," Jeffrey responded, as he sat down to his candy. "Let's hang lots of grey balloons and cover the washstand and the wooden crate with periwinkle crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father clumsily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Audra McGregor. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a wooden spoon."
"Great balls of fire," Jeffrey responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a blush. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."