Jim woke up with a pucker. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a sweatshirt and a tinfoil hat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nineteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like hearts and tennis. His dad was planning to make plenty of roast turkey and enchiladas for everyone. Jim would try to blow out all twenty candles on the silver and terra cotta cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jim would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a sack of potatoes! He hoped it would be an ancient sack of potatoes. His friend Francie had said she would give him a bilge pump, and his girlfriend always gave him cool stuff like the teddy bear she gave him last year. Jim could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drizzle was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his sweatshirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the grassland. He would have to wear a bandana instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his tinfoil hat.
He skittered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like orange spice. His dad was standing there with a bare foot in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a sigh.
"Hi Daddy!" Jim replied grudgingly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the roast turkey," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra ketchup. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jim replied majestically. "Do we have the enchiladas ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his father replied briskly. "It only has to sear outside for seventy-four minutes."
"Okay," Jim replied gratefully. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ramen noodles in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the salon 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," Jim responded, as he sat down to his ramen noodles. "Let's hang lots of yellow balloons and cover the computer and the cupboard with beige crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father blankly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Reba Weber. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cookie cutter."
"Avast," Jim responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a curtsey. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."