Twigs woke up with a shrug. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a diamond necklace and a straitjacket. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the patio was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like badminton and billiards. His dad was planning to make plenty of hors d'oeuvre and cornbread for everyone. Twigs would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the hot pink and ivory cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Twigs would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a magnifying glass! He hoped it would be an electronic magnifying glass. His friend Hayley had said she would give him a painting, and his main squeeze always gave him cool stuff like the pearl she gave him last year. Twigs 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 diamond necklace. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the creek. He would have to wear a stethoscope instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his straitjacket.
He sprinted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like smoked fish. His dad was standing there with a mixing spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a gurgle.
"Hi Daddy!" Twigs replied glibly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the hors d'oeuvre," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra corn syrup. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Twigs replied repeatedly. "Do we have the cornbread ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his father replied ruefully. "It only has to age for thirty-five minutes."
"Okay," Twigs replied brightly. "I'm gonna go to the patio."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some bread and butter in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the patio 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," Twigs responded, as he sat down to his bread and butter. "Let's hang lots of sparkly balloons and cover the dining table and the counter with emerald green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father calmly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Janice Hastings. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a candy thermometer."
"Puppy biscuits," Twigs responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a snarl. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."