Pops woke up with a titter. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of Crocs and a suit. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like duck duck goose and Snakes and Ladders. His mom was planning to make plenty of pecan pie and ice cream for everyone. Pops would try to blow out all ten candles on the sea green and chartreuse cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Pops would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a tote bag! He hoped it would be a decrepit tote bag. His friend Jerry had said he would give him a bedpan, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the corsage she gave him last year. Pops could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a period of warm weather was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of Crocs. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the lakeside. He would have to wear a pair of shoes instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his suit.
He tumbled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like natural gas. His mom was standing there with a pair of tongs in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a raspberry.
"Hi Mommy!" Pops replied breathlessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pecan pie," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra whipping cream. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Pops replied thankfully. "Do we have the ice cream ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," his mother replied majestically. "It only has to age for seventy-two minutes."
"Okay," Pops replied joyously. "I'm gonna go to the porch."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some blueberry pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the porch 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," Pops responded, as he sat down to his blueberry pie. "Let's hang lots of beige balloons and cover the workbench and the settee with green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother cheerfully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Rosa Morrissey. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato masher."
"Shoo," Pops responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a wince. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."