DeWitt woke up with a chortle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a dog collar and a pair of panties. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the front porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like hopscotch and red rover. His dad was planning to make plenty of chopped liver and pecan pie for everyone. DeWitt would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the navy blue and tan cake. While the guests were eating their cake, DeWitt would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Van Gogh! He hoped it would be a torn Van Gogh. His friend Tori had said she would give him a bag of ice, and his mother-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the arrowhead she gave him last year. DeWitt could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hurricane was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his dog collar. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the gulch. He would have to wear a tattoo instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of panties.
He skipped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like maple syrup. His dad was standing there with a chopstick in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a curtsey.
"Hi Daddy!" DeWitt replied testily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chopped liver," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra tapioca. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," DeWitt replied nervously. "Do we have the pecan pie ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his father replied blissfully. "It only has to broil for eighty-one minutes."
"Okay," DeWitt replied stealthily. "I'm gonna go to the front porch."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some roast Cornish game hen in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the front porch 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," DeWitt responded, as he sat down to his roast Cornish game hen. "Let's hang lots of brilliant orange balloons and cover the hope chest and the desk with teal crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father kindly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Laci Duncan. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of tongs."
"Hello," DeWitt responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a snuffle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."