Alberto woke up with a coo. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a hair net and a letter jacket. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the patio was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like jacks and badminton. His dad was planning to make plenty of omelet and smoked salmon for everyone. Alberto would try to blow out all thirty candles on the beige and teal cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Alberto would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pumpkin! He hoped it would be a nice pumpkin. His friend Bubbles had said she would give him a hair dryer, and his main squeeze always gave him cool stuff like the Kindle she gave him last year. Alberto 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 hair net. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the glen. He would have to wear a kilt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his letter jacket.
He lurched downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like sour milk. His dad was standing there with a spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a pout.
"Hi Daddy!" Alberto replied tensely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the omelet," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra chicken. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Alberto replied suddenly. "Do we have the smoked salmon ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," his father replied sympathetically. "It only has to blend for eighty-six minutes."
"Okay," Alberto replied fiercely. "I'm gonna go to the patio."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some Froot Loops in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the patio 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," Alberto responded, as he sat down to his Froot Loops. "Let's hang lots of blue balloons and cover the wine rack and the umbrella stand with jade crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father briskly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Helga Bushnell. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cheesecloth."
"Out of this world," Alberto responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a shiver. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."