Nicholas woke up with a flush. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a diamond necklace and a ponytail. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the doghouse was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like poker and bridge. His mom was planning to make plenty of lime sherbet and lasagna for everyone. Nicholas would try to blow out all twenty candles on the yellow and chartreuse cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Nicholas would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a fish! He hoped it would be a clean fish. His friend Upton had said he would give him a pair of knitting needles, and his friend always gave him cool stuff like the magnet she gave him last year. Nicholas could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a flood was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his diamond necklace. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the seashore. He would have to wear a bonnet instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his ponytail.
He climbed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like perfume. His mom was standing there with an electric mixer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a shout.
"Hi Mommy!" Nicholas replied nicely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lime sherbet," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra dill pickles. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Nicholas replied daintily. "Do we have the lasagna ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his mother replied wryly. "It only has to allow to rise in warm place for several hours for twenty-three minutes."
"Okay," Nicholas replied primly. "I'm gonna go to the doghouse."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some corn on the cob in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the doghouse first?" he begged.
"It looks just like it always does," his mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Nicholas responded, as he sat down to his corn on the cob. "Let's hang lots of olive drab balloons and cover the counter and the china hutch with brown crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother hopefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Patricia Stoltenburg. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a candy thermometer."
"Land's sakes," Nicholas responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a pucker. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."