Vance woke up with a pound of the chest. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a girdle and a pair of dungarees. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fourteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like trivia and Rummy. His dad was planning to make plenty of mushroom quiche and spaghetti for everyone. Vance would try to blow out all twenty candles on the pea green and polka dotted cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Vance would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a cotton ball! He hoped it would be a crooked cotton ball. His friend Wendy had said she would give him a smart phone, and his wife always gave him cool stuff like the lollipop she gave him last year. Vance could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drizzle was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his girdle. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the garden. He would have to wear a blouse instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of dungarees.
He padded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like roses. His dad was standing there with a pastry blender in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a honk.
"Hi Daddy!" Vance replied hopelessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the mushroom quiche," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra poppy seeds. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Vance replied demurely. "Do we have the spaghetti ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his father replied charmingly. "It only has to freeze for seventy-two minutes."
"Okay," Vance replied hastily. "I'm gonna go to the bedroom."
"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 bedroom 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," Vance responded, as he sat down to his cabbage. "Let's hang lots of periwinkle balloons and cover the chest of drawers and the rocking chair with silver crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father joyously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Gillian Vanderbilt. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a basting brush."
"No way," Vance responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sniff. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."