Todd 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 necktie and a suit of armor. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seventeen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like golf and Clue. His dad was planning to make plenty of cornbread and lasagna for everyone. Todd would try to blow out all nine candles on the aquamarine and beige cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Todd would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a lollipop! He hoped it would be a hard lollipop. His friend Celia had said she would give him a primrose, and his wife always gave him cool stuff like the dead rhinoceros she gave him last year. Todd 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 necktie. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the lagoon. He would have to wear a thong instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his suit of armor.
He tore downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like car exhaust. His dad was standing there with a cheesecloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a wink.
"Hi Daddy!" Todd replied nimbly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cornbread," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra frankfurters. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Todd replied grimly. "Do we have the lasagna ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his father replied clumsily. "It only has to heat in microwave for seventy-nine minutes."
"Okay," Todd replied suddenly. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some blueberry pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the salon 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," Todd responded, as he sat down to his blueberry pie. "Let's hang lots of violet balloons and cover the armoire and the crib with brown crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father unexpectedly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Nancy Ross. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a turkey baster."
"Say what," Todd responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a beam. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."