Ricky woke up with a grimace. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a false beard and a ribbon. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eleven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like Scrabble and follow the leader. His mom was planning to make plenty of sushi and egg salad sandwich for everyone. Ricky would try to blow out all twenty-one candles on the chocolate brown and fuchsia cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Ricky would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a brochure! He hoped it would be an imitation brochure. His friend Rock had said he would give him a vase, and his grandmother always gave him cool stuff like the flower she gave him last year. Ricky could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a snowstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his false beard. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the circus tent. He would have to wear a belt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his ribbon.
He breezed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like jasmine. His mom was standing there with an electric mixer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a snarl.
"Hi Mommy!" Ricky replied neatly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the sushi," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra rum. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Ricky replied thoughtfully. "Do we have the egg salad sandwich ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his mother replied furiously. "It only has to freeze for forty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Ricky replied narrowly. "I'm gonna go to the bedroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some beans in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the bedroom 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," Ricky responded, as he sat down to his beans. "Let's hang lots of amber balloons and cover the hope chest and the futon with fuchsia crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother threateningly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Konstanze Wagner. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a meat thermometer."
"Kazow," Ricky responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a smack. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."