Ronnie woke up with an evil eye. 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 camisole. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the lounge was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like checkers and backgammon. His dad was planning to make plenty of pumpkin pie and cherries jubilee for everyone. Ronnie would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the peach and pea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Ronnie would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a joint! He hoped it would be a well worn joint. His friend Mim had said she would give him a coupon, and his fiancée always gave him cool stuff like the avocado she gave him last year. Ronnie 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 dumpster. He would have to wear a pith helmet instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his camisole.
He stormed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a barnyard. His dad was standing there with a cheesecloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a simper.
"Hi Daddy!" Ronnie replied angrily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pumpkin pie," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra cream cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Ronnie replied charmingly. "Do we have the cherries jubilee ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his father replied intensely. "It only has to steam for fifteen minutes."
"Okay," Ronnie replied immediately. "I'm gonna go to the lounge."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken soup in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the lounge 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," Ronnie responded, as he sat down to his chicken soup. "Let's hang lots of yellow balloons and cover the filing cabinet and the recliner with jet black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father haughtily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Edie Oliver. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a chopstick."
"Grrrrr," Ronnie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a frown. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."