Robin woke up with a chuckle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a headscarf and a bib. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the garage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fourteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like Parcheesi and billiards. His dad was planning to make plenty of fried chicken and Hamburger Helper for everyone. Robin would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the navy blue and turquoise cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Robin would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a lemon! He hoped it would be a broken lemon. His friend Cinderella had said she would give him a bit of Elmer's glue, and his aunt always gave him cool stuff like the Lego set she gave him last year. Robin 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 headscarf. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the creek. He would have to wear a pair of khakis instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his bib.
He scampered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a baby's diaper. His dad was standing there with a slotted spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a belly laugh.
"Hi Daddy!" Robin replied glumly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fried chicken," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra lettuce. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Robin replied queerly. "Do we have the Hamburger Helper ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his father replied craftily. "It only has to sauté for eighty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Robin replied brashly. "I'm gonna go to the garage."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some country glazed ham 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," Robin responded, as he sat down to his country glazed ham. "Let's hang lots of salmon balloons and cover the casket and the catbird seat with red crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father blissfully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Midge Barker. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a sharp knife."
"Thanks for nothing," Robin responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a honk. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."