Alexei woke up with a beam. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a helmet and a pair of combat boots. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the laundry room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nineteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like trivia and doctor. His dad was planning to make plenty of mashed potatoes and pecan pie for everyone. Alexei would try to blow out all fourteen candles on the indigo and amber cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Alexei would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a cage! He hoped it would be a chic cage. His friend Clarisse had said she would give him a Hostess Ding Dong, and his grandfather always gave him cool stuff like the ticket she gave him last year. Alexei 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 helmet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the moonscape. He would have to wear a bolo tie instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of combat boots.
He tore downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like burnt toast. His dad was standing there with a meat tenderizer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a fist bump.
"Hi Daddy!" Alexei replied arrogantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the mashed potatoes," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra strawberries. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Alexei replied suspiciously. "Do we have the pecan pie ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his father replied immediately. "It only has to deep fry for fifty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Alexei replied surreptitiously. "I'm gonna go to the laundry room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cotton candy 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," Alexei responded, as he sat down to his cotton candy. "Let's hang lots of lavender balloons and cover the end table and the TV with grey crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father unabashedly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Bridget MacKenzie. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a mixing spoon."
"Bowwow," Alexei responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a caress. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."