Newton woke up with a wrinkled nose. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a fez and a dunce cap. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the ballroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like dodge ball and Snakes and Ladders. His dad was planning to make plenty of roast turkey and biscuits and gravy for everyone. Newton would try to blow out all twelve candles on the azure and scarlet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Newton would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pickle! He hoped it would be a delicate pickle. His friend Cindi had said she would give him a bird feeder, and his main squeeze always gave him cool stuff like the crutch she gave him last year. Newton could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hailstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his fez. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the cliff. He would have to wear a lab coat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his dunce cap.
He ran downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a swamp. His dad was standing there with an ice pick in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a belch.
"Hi Daddy!" Newton replied hungrily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the roast turkey," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra mushrooms. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Newton replied smoothly. "Do we have the biscuits and gravy ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his father replied effortlessly. "It only has to grill for forty-six minutes."
"Okay," Newton replied carefully. "I'm gonna go to the ballroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some prune pudding in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the ballroom 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," Newton responded, as he sat down to his prune pudding. "Let's hang lots of indigo balloons and cover the crib and the overstuffed chair with hot pink crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father calmly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Cherise Ellington. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a corkscrew."
"What the dickens," Newton responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a cackle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."