Howard woke up with a sigh. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a sarong and a pair of handcuffs. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the outhouse was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like red rover and battleship. His dad was planning to make plenty of cinnamon toast and beef bouillon for everyone. Howard would try to blow out all twelve candles on the tan and aqua cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Howard would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a protest sign! He hoped it would be a bulky protest sign. His friend Anita had said she would give him a bag of popcorn, and his grandmother always gave him cool stuff like the button she gave him last year. Howard could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dense fog was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his sarong. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the glen. He would have to wear a cape instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of handcuffs.
He made a beeline downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like potpourri. His dad was standing there with a meat thermometer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a grin.
"Hi Daddy!" Howard replied merrily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cinnamon toast," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra wasabi powder. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Howard replied lightly. "Do we have the beef bouillon ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his father replied gruffly. "It only has to sear outside for forty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Howard replied wildly. "I'm gonna go to the outhouse."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some moo goo gai pan in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the outhouse 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," Howard responded, as he sat down to his moo goo gai pan. "Let's hang lots of indigo balloons and cover the rug and the bunk bed with camouflage crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father valiantly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Scarlett Wozniak. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a chopstick."
"Yoohoo," Howard responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sneer. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."