Shane woke up with a laugh. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of roller skates and a pair of galoshes. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the den was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fourteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like chess and Rummy. His dad was planning to make plenty of ham and applesauce for everyone. Shane would try to blow out all eight candles on the olive drab and indigo cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Shane would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a cowbell! He hoped it would be a leather cowbell. His friend Bretta had said she would give him a piece of paper, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the sponge she gave him last year. Shane could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an earthquake was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of roller skates. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the crime scene. He would have to wear a pair of sweatpants instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of galoshes.
He padded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like apple pie. His dad was standing there with a spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a honk.
"Hi Daddy!" Shane replied cheerfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ham," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra egg noodles. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Shane replied fondly. "Do we have the applesauce ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his father replied brashly. "It only has to spoon into container for one minute."
"Okay," Shane replied offhandedly. "I'm gonna go to the den."
"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 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," Shane responded, as he sat down to his lobster. "Let's hang lots of blue balloons and cover the rocking chair and the armoire with crimson crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father sweetly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Magnolia Stetson. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a strainer."
"Totally rad," Shane responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a pout. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."