Andy 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 pocket watch and a pair of shoes. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the pool room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like Scrabble and shuffleboard. His dad was planning to make plenty of fried okra and fish and chips for everyone. Andy would try to blow out all thirty candles on the forest green and crimson cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Andy would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a ball! He hoped it would be a petite ball. His friend Riley had said she would give him a stopwatch, and his wife always gave him cool stuff like the duffel bag she gave him last year. Andy could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an ice storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pocket watch. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the dumpster. He would have to wear a derby instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of shoes.
He jogged downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like bacon frying. His dad was standing there with a wooden spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a smile.
"Hi Daddy!" Andy replied roughly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fried okra," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra strawberries. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Andy replied tenderly. "Do we have the fish and chips ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his father replied again. "It only has to bake at 450 degrees F for thirty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Andy replied demurely. "I'm gonna go to the pool room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some country glazed ham in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the pool room 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," Andy responded, as he sat down to his country glazed ham. "Let's hang lots of teal balloons and cover the cushion and the ironing board with forest green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father miserably. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Starla Costello. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of tongs."
"Doggone," Andy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a raspberry. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."