Daniel woke up with a hoot. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a big red rose and a bolo tie. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the laundry room 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 badminton and Russian roulette. His dad was planning to make plenty of fish and chips and roast Cornish game hen for everyone. Daniel would try to blow out all twenty-seven candles on the salmon and teal cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Daniel would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a piece of paper! He hoped it would be a loose piece of paper. His friend Leslie had said she would give him a fire hose, and his mommy always gave him cool stuff like the stamp she gave him last year. Daniel could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a typhoon was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his big red rose. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the meadow. He would have to wear a uniform instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his bolo tie.
He sauntered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rotting meat. His dad was standing there with a pair of chopsticks in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a flinch.
"Hi Daddy!" Daniel replied softly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fish and chips," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra tomato sauce. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Daniel replied flightily. "Do we have the roast Cornish game hen ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his father replied crankily. "It only has to shake for fifty-four minutes."
"Okay," Daniel replied nimbly. "I'm gonna go to the laundry room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some omelet in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the laundry 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," Daniel responded, as he sat down to his omelet. "Let's hang lots of hot pink balloons and cover the canopy bed and the wine rack with hot pink crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father resignedly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Flo Clooney. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a food processor."
"Jeez," Daniel responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a pout. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."