Jacob woke up with a grin. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a motorcycle helmet and a black armband. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the corridor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like doctor and solitaire. His dad was planning to make plenty of scrambled eggs and cabbage for everyone. Jacob would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the olive drab and golden cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jacob would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a flag! He hoped it would be a peculiar flag. His friend Ginger had said she would give him a beach ball, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the grease gun she gave him last year. Jacob could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a period of warm weather was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his motorcycle helmet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the crime scene. He would have to wear a set of pink foam curlers instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his black armband.
He whirled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like baked beans. His dad was standing there with a strainer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a woof.
"Hi Daddy!" Jacob replied fiercely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the scrambled eggs," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra fresh peaches. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jacob replied unexpectedly. "Do we have the cabbage ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his father replied unabashedly. "It only has to roast for twenty-three minutes."
"Okay," Jacob replied woefully. "I'm gonna go to the corridor."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tofu in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the corridor 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," Jacob responded, as he sat down to his tofu. "Let's hang lots of chartreuse balloons and cover the wardrobe and the chest of drawers with forest green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father solemnly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Cinderella Osterman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a knife."
"Gawwwleeee," Jacob responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a snicker. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."