Karl woke up with a cackle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a belly button jewel and a blanket. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the laundry room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like red light green light and croquet. His mom was planning to make plenty of hors d'oeuvre and corn on the cob for everyone. Karl would try to blow out all seventeen candles on the beige and red cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Karl would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a baton! He hoped it would be an archaic baton. His friend Mario had said he would give him a football, and his main squeeze always gave him cool stuff like the baby doll she gave him last year. Karl could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pall of doom was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his belly button jewel. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the creek. He would have to wear a pair of Groucho glasses instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his blanket.
He pranced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a wet dog. His mom was standing there with a ladle in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a guffaw.
"Hi Mommy!" Karl replied queerly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the hors d'oeuvre," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra parsley. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Karl replied dolorously. "Do we have the corn on the cob ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his mother replied neatly. "It only has to simmer for forty-three minutes."
"Okay," Karl replied offhandedly. "I'm gonna go to the laundry room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some hash in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the laundry 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," Karl responded, as he sat down to his hash. "Let's hang lots of burgundy balloons and cover the ping-pong table and the fainting couch with orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother fearlessly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Eileen Hamm. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a grater."
"Behold," Karl responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a face palm. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."