Nicholas woke up with a shiver. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a sombrero and a pair of knickerbockers. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the billiard room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like Russian roulette and trivia. His dad was planning to make plenty of cherries jubilee and cinnamon toast for everyone. Nicholas would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the aqua and peach cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Nicholas would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a balloon! He hoped it would be a primitive balloon. His friend Janice had said she would give him a hat, and his fiancée always gave him cool stuff like the sea shell she gave him last year. Nicholas could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his sombrero. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the grassland. He would have to wear a suit of armor instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of knickerbockers.
He skittered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like caramel corn. His dad was standing there with a fork in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a flinch.
"Hi Daddy!" Nicholas replied greedily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cherries jubilee," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra poppy seeds. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Nicholas replied neatly. "Do we have the cinnamon toast ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," his father replied lightly. "It only has to whirl for fifty-two minutes."
"Okay," Nicholas replied fiercely. "I'm gonna go to the billiard room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cabbage in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the billiard 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," Nicholas responded, as he sat down to his cabbage. "Let's hang lots of lavender balloons and cover the chest of drawers and the water bed with magenta crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father viciously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Krystal Lindgren. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spoon."
"Retch," Nicholas 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."