Richard woke up with a growl. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a hearing aid and a rain coat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the guest room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like checkers and cribbage. His dad was planning to make plenty of clam chowder and cabbage for everyone. Richard would try to blow out all seventeen candles on the sparkly and salmon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Richard would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a vacuum cleaner! He hoped it would be a charming vacuum cleaner. His friend Joni had said she would give him a hearing aid, and his cousin always gave him cool stuff like the paperclip she gave him last year. Richard 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 hearing aid. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the village. He would have to wear a nightgown instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his rain coat.
He cantered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like an old goat. His dad was standing there with a food processor in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a pound of the chest.
"Hi Daddy!" Richard replied thankfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the clam chowder," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra frozen peas. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Richard replied cheerfully. "Do we have the cabbage ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his father replied reluctantly. "It only has to microwave for forty-two minutes."
"Okay," Richard replied immediately. "I'm gonna go to the guest room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pot roast in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the guest room 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," Richard responded, as he sat down to his pot roast. "Let's hang lots of orange balloons and cover the sofa and the end table with orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father slowly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Ophelia Cox. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a wooden spoon."
"Gosh darn," Richard responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a gurgle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."