Vic woke up with a sniff. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a ponytail and a feather boa. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the parlor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited two of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like shuffleboard and ring around the rosie. His dad was planning to make plenty of chopped liver and cookies for everyone. Vic would try to blow out all twenty-four candles on the olive drab and carrot-orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Vic would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a nail clipper! He hoped it would be a spongy nail clipper. His friend Beulah had said she would give him a calling card, and his fiancée always gave him cool stuff like the key she gave him last year. Vic could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blanket of mist was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his ponytail. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the stream. He would have to wear a military uniform instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his feather boa.
He sneaked downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like grapefruit. His dad was standing there with a grater in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with an air kiss.
"Hi Daddy!" Vic replied suddenly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chopped liver," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra peanut butter. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Vic replied happily. "Do we have the cookies ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his father replied gleefully. "It only has to place on serving dish for sixty-three minutes."
"Okay," Vic replied demurely. "I'm gonna go to the parlor."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some enchiladas in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the parlor 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," Vic responded, as he sat down to his enchiladas. "Let's hang lots of salmon balloons and cover the chest of drawers and the dresser with salmon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father warmly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Rhoda Friedman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric paint mixer."
"Alas," Vic responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sneeze. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."