Norman woke up with a bow. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a skeleton costume and a pair of socks. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the hall was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirty of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like billiards and cribbage. His dad was planning to make plenty of hors d'oeuvre and roast Cornish game hen for everyone. Norman would try to blow out all thirty-one candles on the maroon and olive green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Norman would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a clock! He hoped it would be a loose clock. His friend Cindy had said she would give him a comic book, and his mother always gave him cool stuff like the fountain pen she gave him last year. Norman could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot, sunny day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his skeleton costume. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the outback. He would have to wear a towel instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of socks.
He ran downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like paint. His dad was standing there with a spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a wrinkled nose.
"Hi Daddy!" Norman replied deftly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the hors d'oeuvre," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra habañero peppers. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Norman replied hungrily. "Do we have the roast Cornish game hen ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his father replied kindly. "It only has to scramble for thirty-six minutes."
"Okay," Norman replied sharply. "I'm gonna go to the hall."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some roast beef in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the hall 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," Norman responded, as he sat down to his roast beef. "Let's hang lots of teal balloons and cover the desk and the couch with lime-green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father hysterically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Bailey Quill. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a ladle."
"Excellent," Norman responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a snuffle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."