Stu woke up with a tear. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a Stetson hat and a pair of moon boots. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the servant's quarters was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-six of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like old maid and doctor. His dad was planning to make plenty of prune pudding and oyster on the half-shell for everyone. Stu would try to blow out all twenty-nine candles on the yellow and khaki cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Stu would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an ice cream cone! He hoped it would be a modern ice cream cone. His friend Ruth had said she would give him a dollhouse, and his sister-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the elephant tusk she gave him last year. Stu could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a thunderstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his Stetson hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the oasis. He would have to wear a jogging suit instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of moon boots.
He scooted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like lilacs. His dad was standing there with a wooden spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a shout.
"Hi Daddy!" Stu replied boisterously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the prune pudding," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra pitted black olives. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Stu replied boisterously. "Do we have the oyster on the half-shell ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his father replied zestily. "It only has to grill for seventy-one minutes."
"Okay," Stu replied happily. "I'm gonna go to the servant's quarters."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some crab rangoon in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the servant's quarters 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," Stu responded, as he sat down to his crab rangoon. "Let's hang lots of pink balloons and cover the ping-pong table and the umbrella stand with chocolate brown crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father flightily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Hattie Backus. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a meat tenderizer."
"Meow," Stu responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a frown. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."