Brad woke up with a death glare. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a tutu and a pair of Crocs. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the foyer was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like hide and seek and rummy. His dad was planning to make plenty of fish and chips and ice cream for everyone. Brad would try to blow out all nineteen candles on the silver and pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Brad would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Helmholz resonator! He hoped it would be a weird Helmholz resonator. His friend Ruth had said she would give him a pop bottle, and his cousin always gave him cool stuff like the pink flamingo she gave him last year. Brad 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 tutu. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the canyon. He would have to wear a babushka instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of Crocs.
He darted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Lancôme. His dad was standing there with a strainer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a bow.
"Hi Daddy!" Brad replied neatly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fish and chips," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra peanuts. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Brad replied perkily. "Do we have the ice cream ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his father replied pityingly. "It only has to microwave for forty-three minutes."
"Okay," Brad replied carefully. "I'm gonna go to the foyer."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some popcorn in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the foyer 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," Brad responded, as he sat down to his popcorn. "Let's hang lots of maroon balloons and cover the billiard table and the bathtub with jet black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father softly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Lauren Buckley. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a knife."
"Praise the Lord," Brad responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a death glare. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."