Nathaniel woke up with a smirk. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a parka and a robe. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the den was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited six of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like red light green light and old maid. His dad was planning to make plenty of egg drop soup and Froot Loops for everyone. Nathaniel would try to blow out all nineteen candles on the aquamarine and sea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Nathaniel would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a coloring book! He hoped it would be a wet coloring book. His friend Millie had said she would give him a top, and his main squeeze always gave him cool stuff like the comb she gave him last year. Nathaniel could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his parka. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the range. He would have to wear a beard instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his robe.
He traipsed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rotten eggs. His dad was standing there with a bare foot in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a snigger.
"Hi Daddy!" Nathaniel replied proudly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the egg drop soup," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra grated Romano cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Nathaniel replied stealthily. "Do we have the Froot Loops ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his father replied violently. "It only has to blend for twelve minutes."
"Okay," Nathaniel replied primly. "I'm gonna go to the den."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some squash blossom soup in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the den 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," Nathaniel responded, as he sat down to his squash blossom soup. "Let's hang lots of camouflage balloons and cover the pool table and the hatstand with aquamarine crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father cautiously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Susanne Reynolds. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an oven mitt."
"Crap," Nathaniel responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sneeze. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."