Charles woke up with a stiff upper lip. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a bomber jacket and a moustache. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like musical chairs and hide and seek. His dad was planning to make plenty of tortillas and shrimp for everyone. Charles would try to blow out all twenty-four candles on the ivory and jade cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Charles would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bag of popcorn! He hoped it would be a primitive bag of popcorn. His friend Irma had said she would give him a nail, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the book she gave him last year. Charles could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a lightning storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his bomber jacket. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the tundra. He would have to wear a pair of nylons instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his moustache.
He whirled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like peppermint. His dad was standing there with an electric mixer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a backward glance.
"Hi Daddy!" Charles replied delicately. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the tortillas," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra frozen spinach. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Charles replied peevishly. "Do we have the shrimp ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his father replied irritably. "It only has to bake at 450 degrees F for forty minutes."
"Okay," Charles replied hastily. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ravioli 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," Charles responded, as he sat down to his ravioli. "Let's hang lots of purple balloons and cover the wooden crate and the TV with black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father pityingly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Rhoda Johnson. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a bare foot."
"Granular," Charles responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a fist bump. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."