Josh woke up with a face palm. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of knickers and a ponytail. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the solarium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twelve of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like red light green light and Rummy. His dad was planning to make plenty of roast turkey and jambalaya for everyone. Josh would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the hot pink and salmon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Josh would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a tennis racket! He hoped it would be an automatic tennis racket. His friend Ashley had said she would give him a statue, and his dad always gave him cool stuff like the cane she gave him last year. Josh could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drought was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of knickers. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the grassy knoll. He would have to wear a pair of pajamas instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his ponytail.
He swaggered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like June roses. His dad was standing there with a dull knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a smile.
"Hi Daddy!" Josh replied delicately. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the roast turkey," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra egg whites. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Josh replied sternly. "Do we have the jambalaya ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," his father replied later. "It only has to toast for fifty-four minutes."
"Okay," Josh replied gingerly. "I'm gonna go to the solarium."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some Cheerios in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the solarium 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," Josh responded, as he sat down to his Cheerios. "Let's hang lots of amber balloons and cover the couch and the piano with jade crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father firmly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Beulah Bewley. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a foot."
"In your dreams," Josh responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a face palm. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."