Robin woke up with a shrug. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a jumper and a coat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like Candy Land and rummy. His dad was planning to make plenty of hors d'oeuvre and shrimp for everyone. Robin would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the periwinkle and periwinkle cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Robin would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a candy bar! He hoped it would be a brittle candy bar. His friend Bria had said she would give him a curling iron, and his friend always gave him cool stuff like the needle and thread she gave him last year. Robin could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a bit of precipitation was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his jumper. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the crime scene. He would have to wear a Speedo instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his coat.
He slumped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like curry. His dad was standing there with an electric paint mixer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a stiff upper lip.
"Hi Daddy!" Robin replied stealthily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the hors d'oeuvre," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra cream of mushroom soup. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Robin replied gracefully. "Do we have the shrimp ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his father replied joyously. "It only has to boil for eighty minutes."
"Okay," Robin replied accidentally. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some sushi in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the salon 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," Robin responded, as he sat down to his sushi. "Let's hang lots of silver balloons and cover the windowsill and the rug with jade crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father sweetly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Carol Collins. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a paring knife."
"Oof," Robin responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a cringe. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."