Scotty woke up with a giggle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a nose ring and a beard. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the foyer was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like Snakes and Ladders and dodge ball. His mom was planning to make plenty of cabbage rolls and hors d'oeuvre for everyone. Scotty would try to blow out all twenty-eight candles on the burgundy and tan cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Scotty would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a dollar bill! He hoped it would be a fuzzy dollar bill. His friend Lee had said he would give him a lollipop, and his girlfriend always gave him cool stuff like the hip flask she gave him last year. Scotty could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a downpour was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his nose ring. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the peninsula. He would have to wear a Hawaiian shirt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his beard.
He whirled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like gardenias. His mom was standing there with a wooden spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a guffaw.
"Hi Mommy!" Scotty replied ignobly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cabbage rolls," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra oat bran. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Scotty replied openly. "Do we have the hors d'oeuvre ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his mother replied nervously. "It only has to shake for seventy-two minutes."
"Okay," Scotty replied grimly. "I'm gonna go to the foyer."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some shrimp in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the foyer 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," Scotty responded, as he sat down to his shrimp. "Let's hang lots of ivory balloons and cover the crib and the mattress with polka dotted crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother patiently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Judith Cornish. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a turkey baster."
"Eh," Scotty responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a caress. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."