Ethan woke up with a furrowed brow. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a cocktail dress and a sarong. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the patio was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nineteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like Mother May I and backgammon. His mom was planning to make plenty of chocolate-covered ants and chicken soup for everyone. Ethan would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the teal and olive green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Ethan would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a cactus plant! He hoped it would be a bent cactus plant. His friend Robin had said he would give him a crayon, and his mom always gave him cool stuff like the salt shaker she gave him last year. Ethan could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sandstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his cocktail dress. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the lakeside. He would have to wear a dunce cap instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his sarong.
He dove downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like elderberries. His mom was standing there with a food processor in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a face palm.
"Hi Mommy!" Ethan replied ingeniously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chocolate-covered ants," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra trout. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Ethan replied dreamily. "Do we have the chicken soup ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his mother replied truculently. "It only has to boil for seventy-one minutes."
"Okay," Ethan replied viciously. "I'm gonna go to the patio."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some prime rib in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the patio 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," Ethan responded, as he sat down to his prime rib. "Let's hang lots of olive drab balloons and cover the dining table and the ironing board with olive drab crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother sheepishly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Dusty Sugarbaker. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a strainer."
"Well I'll be," Ethan responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a honk. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."