Justin woke up with an evil eye. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a dress and a set of dentures. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nineteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like Rummy and battleship. His mom was planning to make plenty of roast Cornish game hen and crab rangoon for everyone. Justin would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the aquamarine and green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Justin would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bagpipe! He hoped it would be a handy bagpipe. His friend James had said he would give him a Frisbee, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the beach ball she gave him last year. Justin could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot, sunny day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his dress. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the gulch. He would have to wear a pair of Crocs instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his set of dentures.
He skipped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like fish. His mom was standing there with a bare foot in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a curtsey.
"Hi Mommy!" Justin replied humbly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the roast Cornish game hen," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra rice noodles. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Justin replied vacantly. "Do we have the crab rangoon ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his mother replied firmly. "It only has to toast for thirty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Justin replied deliberately. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chocolate-covered ants 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," Justin responded, as he sat down to his chocolate-covered ants. "Let's hang lots of burgundy balloons and cover the piano and the footstool with crimson crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother primly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Tina Gustafson. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a ladle."
"Durn it," Justin responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a shiver. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."