Jeremy woke up with a wrinkled nose. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a sarong and a pair of nylons. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the corridor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fourteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like old maid and bridge. His mom was planning to make plenty of prune pudding and beef bouillon for everyone. Jeremy would try to blow out all seventeen candles on the orange and scarlet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jeremy would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a piggy bank! He hoped it would be an art deco piggy bank. His friend Marcus had said he would give him a hair brush, and his fiancée always gave him cool stuff like the baby doll she gave him last year. Jeremy could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a gale was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his sarong. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the cornfield. He would have to wear a cheerleader's uniform instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of nylons.
He bounced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like car exhaust. His mom was standing there with a cheesecloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a raspberry.
"Hi Mommy!" Jeremy replied suddenly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the prune pudding," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra ground mustard. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jeremy replied menacingly. "Do we have the beef bouillon ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his mother replied cautiously. "It only has to spread into container for one minute."
"Okay," Jeremy replied smoothly. "I'm gonna go to the corridor."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ravioli in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the corridor 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," Jeremy responded, as he sat down to his ravioli. "Let's hang lots of black balloons and cover the nightstand and the bookcase with jet black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother obediently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Cheryl Suzuki. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a sharp knife."
"Hurray," Jeremy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a hoot. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."