Boots woke up with a shiver. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a bathrobe and a pair of pantaloons. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the kitchen was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like crazy eights and battleship. His dad was planning to make plenty of ravioli and enchiladas for everyone. Boots would try to blow out all thirty-two candles on the tan and navy blue cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Boots would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a hacksaw! He hoped it would be a used hacksaw. His friend Claudia had said she would give him a paperclip, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the cigar she gave him last year. Boots could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a driving rain was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his bathrobe. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the neighborhood. He would have to wear a black armband instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of pantaloons.
He zipped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like tar. His dad was standing there with a foot in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a frown.
"Hi Daddy!" Boots replied blissfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ravioli," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra baking soda. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Boots replied viciously. "Do we have the enchiladas ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his father replied joyously. "It only has to press for sixty-four minutes."
"Okay," Boots replied majestically. "I'm gonna go to the kitchen."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fried eggs in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the kitchen 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," Boots responded, as he sat down to his fried eggs. "Let's hang lots of brown balloons and cover the pool table and the water bed with purple crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father stealthily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Isabella Ruiz. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a food processor."
"Kazow," Boots responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a pound of the chest. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."