Albert woke up with a flinch. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of gloves and a coat of mail. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the corridor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited four of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like Rummy and roulette. His dad was planning to make plenty of smoked salmon and hamburgers for everyone. Albert would try to blow out all twenty-eight candles on the carrot-orange and red cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Albert would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a ball! He hoped it would be a smelly ball. His friend Grace had said she would give him a pack of gum, and his grandfather always gave him cool stuff like the bird bath she gave him last year. Albert 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 pair of gloves. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the neighborhood. He would have to wear a pair of bloomers instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his coat of mail.
He walked downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like soap. His dad was standing there with a blender in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a pucker.
"Hi Daddy!" Albert replied nimbly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the smoked salmon," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra active dry yeast. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Albert replied courageously. "Do we have the hamburgers ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his father replied fearfully. "It only has to allow to rise in warm place for several hours for sixty-six minutes."
"Okay," Albert replied needlessly. "I'm gonna go to the corridor."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tacos in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the corridor 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," Albert responded, as he sat down to his tacos. "Let's hang lots of black balloons and cover the sofa and the filing cabinet with chartreuse crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father smoothly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Bonnie Small. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a piece of cheesecloth."
"Nice," Albert responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a flush. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."