LaDue 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 pair of briefs and a letter jacket. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fifteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like red light green light and solitaire. His mom was planning to make plenty of tacos and chicken chow mein for everyone. LaDue would try to blow out all twenty candles on the olive green and lavender cake. While the guests were eating their cake, LaDue would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pair of fuzzy dice! He hoped it would be a stolen pair of fuzzy dice. His friend Rumpelstiltskin had said he would give him a coat check ticket, and his grandpa always gave him cool stuff like the stuffed bunny she gave him last year. LaDue could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of briefs. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the cave. He would have to wear a pair of contact lenses instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his letter jacket.
He swaggered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like eucalyptus. His mom was standing there with a food processor in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a sniff.
"Hi Mommy!" LaDue replied strictly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the tacos," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra powdered milk. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," LaDue replied unabashedly. "Do we have the chicken chow mein ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his mother replied grimly. "It only has to smoke for thirty-seven minutes."
"Okay," LaDue replied zestily. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken gumbo in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the library 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," LaDue responded, as he sat down to his chicken gumbo. "Let's hang lots of emerald green balloons and cover the chair and the settee with beige crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother queerly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Candi Harper. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an egg cutter."
"Holy smokes," LaDue responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a giggle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."