Milton woke up with a jeer. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a coat and a tailcoat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the servant's quarters was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like baseball and charades. His dad was planning to make plenty of chocolate-covered ants and fish and chips for everyone. Milton would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the blue and scarlet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Milton would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a flag! He hoped it would be a handy flag. His friend Lindsay had said she would give him a brochure, and his friend always gave him cool stuff like the comic book she gave him last year. Milton could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blizzard was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his coat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the village. He would have to wear a coat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his tailcoat.
He straggled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a skunk. His dad was standing there with a foot in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a curtsey.
"Hi Daddy!" Milton replied humbly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chocolate-covered ants," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra white wine. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Milton replied hastily. "Do we have the fish and chips ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his father replied grandly. "It only has to sear outside for thirteen minutes."
"Okay," Milton replied clumsily. "I'm gonna go to the servant's quarters."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lobster in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the servant's quarters 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," Milton responded, as he sat down to his lobster. "Let's hang lots of pea green balloons and cover the toilet and the couch with lavender crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father craftily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Meghan Gilmore. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a grater."
"Puppy biscuits," Milton responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a hoot. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."