Oscar woke up with a jeer. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of cycling shorts and a cloak. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited sixteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like Snakes and Ladders and bridge. His mom was planning to make plenty of blueberry pie and cabbage rolls for everyone. Oscar would try to blow out all twelve candles on the teal and jade cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Oscar would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a broom! He hoped it would be a small broom. His friend Timothy had said he would give him a sea shell, and his mom always gave him cool stuff like the saw she gave him last year. Oscar could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of cycling shorts. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the cesspool. He would have to wear a wet suit instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his cloak.
He zoomed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a feed lot. His mom was standing there with an electric paint mixer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a smirk.
"Hi Mommy!" Oscar replied carelessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the blueberry pie," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pretzels. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Oscar replied warmly. "Do we have the cabbage rolls ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his mother replied daintily. "It only has to fry for fifty-one minutes."
"Okay," Oscar replied tearfully. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some roast turkey in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the salon 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," Oscar responded, as he sat down to his roast turkey. "Let's hang lots of mauve balloons and cover the rug and the beanbag chair with carrot-orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother caustically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Camella Graziano. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an ice pick."
"Um," Oscar responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with an evil eye. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."