Logan woke up with a stiff upper lip. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a cat suit and a pair of false eyelashes. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the outhouse was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like Scrabble and bridge. His mom was planning to make plenty of lobster bisque and egg drop soup for everyone. Logan would try to blow out all five candles on the striped and chartreuse cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Logan would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a snail! He hoped it would be a miniature snail. His friend Gilbert had said he would give him a billfold, and his grandmother always gave him cool stuff like the pair of knitting needles she gave him last year. Logan could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an ice storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his cat suit. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the cave. He would have to wear an armband instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of false eyelashes.
He lurched downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like June roses. His mom was standing there with a fork in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a cringe.
"Hi Mommy!" Logan replied majestically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lobster bisque," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pickled peppers. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Logan replied happily. "Do we have the egg drop soup ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his mother replied charmingly. "It only has to microwave for eighty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Logan replied kindly. "I'm gonna go to the outhouse."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fried eggs in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the outhouse first?" he begged.
"It looks just like it always does," his mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Logan responded, as he sat down to his fried eggs. "Let's hang lots of yellow balloons and cover the billiard table and the end table with brown crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother sorrowfully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Laci Tran. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric paint mixer."
"Ugh," Logan responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a raspberry. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."