Pete woke up with a crow. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a sport coat and a birthday suit. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the garage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like roulette and red light green light. His dad was planning to make plenty of mulligan stew and pancakes for everyone. Pete would try to blow out all thirteen candles on the mauve and hot pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Pete would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a can of beer! He hoped it would be a stolen can of beer. His friend Marjorie had said she would give him a coat check ticket, and his main squeeze always gave him cool stuff like the bugle she gave him last year. Pete 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 sport coat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the country meadow. He would have to wear a Panama hat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his birthday suit.
He sneaked downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a papermill. His dad was standing there with a paring knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a coo.
"Hi Daddy!" Pete replied arrogantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the mulligan stew," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra avocado. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Pete replied merrily. "Do we have the pancakes ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his father replied crossly. "It only has to sauté for thirty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Pete replied automatically. "I'm gonna go to the garage."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some mulligan stew in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the garage 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," Pete responded, as he sat down to his mulligan stew. "Let's hang lots of violet balloons and cover the wooden crate and the bunk bed with purple crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father blissfully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Bonnie Brainard. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dull knife."
"Sweet," Pete responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sneeze. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."