Henry woke up with a smack. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a cocktail dress and a thong. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the conservatory was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like trivia and tag. His mom was planning to make plenty of ramen noodles and hot dogs for everyone. Henry would try to blow out all eight candles on the polka dotted and violet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Henry would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a clipboard! He hoped it would be a dusty clipboard. His friend Cameron had said he would give him an elephant tusk, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the sack she gave him last year. Henry could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a thunderstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his cocktail dress. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the seacoast. He would have to wear a jogging suit instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his thong.
He dashed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like new mown hay. His mom was standing there with a whisk in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a chuckle.
"Hi Mommy!" Henry replied suddenly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ramen noodles," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra hard-cooked eggs. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Henry replied wearily. "Do we have the hot dogs ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his mother replied boldly. "It only has to scramble for thirty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Henry replied crankily. "I'm gonna go to the conservatory."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fish and chips in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the conservatory 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," Henry responded, as he sat down to his fish and chips. "Let's hang lots of peach balloons and cover the bath mat and the footstool with salmon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother elatedly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Meredith Covington. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a turkey baster."
"Harrumph," Henry responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sneeze. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."