Arnold woke up with a chuckle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of cowboy boots and a pair of galoshes. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the servant's quarters was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like follow the leader and seven-up. His dad was planning to make plenty of apple pie and ravioli for everyone. Arnold would try to blow out all twenty candles on the crimson and fuchsia cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Arnold would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pigeon! He hoped it would be a nifty pigeon. His friend Anna had said she would give him a corncob, and his mother-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the etching she gave him last year. Arnold could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of cowboy boots. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the tundra. He would have to wear a suit instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of galoshes.
He rushed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like orange spice. His dad was standing there with an egg cutter in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a snuffle.
"Hi Daddy!" Arnold replied defiantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the apple pie," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra pitted black olives. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Arnold replied coldly. "Do we have the ravioli ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his father replied viciously. "It only has to sear for eighty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Arnold replied flightily. "I'm gonna go to the servant's quarters."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some steak 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," Arnold responded, as he sat down to his steak. "Let's hang lots of carrot-orange balloons and cover the cushion and the bed with metallic red crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father primly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Joni Marx. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a foot."
"Yeehah," Arnold responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a belly laugh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."