Stan woke up with a laugh. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of glasses and a coat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the family room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like charades and blackjack. His mom was planning to make plenty of hors d'oeuvre and steak for everyone. Stan would try to blow out all nineteen candles on the tan and rose cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Stan would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a wrench! He hoped it would be a hollow wrench. His friend Morton had said he would give him a sponge, and his grandpa always gave him cool stuff like the jar of olives she gave him last year. Stan could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a tornado was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of glasses. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the garden. He would have to wear a pair of shoes instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his coat.
He lumbered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a dusty attic. His mom was standing there with a pair of chopsticks in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a smile.
"Hi Mommy!" Stan replied quietly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the hors d'oeuvre," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra chopped green pepper. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Stan replied mysteriously. "Do we have the steak ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his mother replied irritably. "It only has to poach lightly for eighty minutes."
"Okay," Stan replied carelessly. "I'm gonna go to the family room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ramen noodles in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the family room 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," Stan responded, as he sat down to his ramen noodles. "Let's hang lots of brown balloons and cover the dishwasher and the card table with sparkly crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother dolefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Alicia Naipaul. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cookie cutter."
"By all the saints," Stan responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a shout. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."