Rover woke up with a sniff. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a polo shirt and a pair of shorts. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the living room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nineteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like dodge ball and Snakes and Ladders. His mom was planning to make plenty of dry toast and cornbread for everyone. Rover would try to blow out all twenty-nine candles on the teal and peach cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Rover would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a cell phone! He hoped it would be a narrow cell phone. His friend Abel had said he would give him an ashtray, and his mother always gave him cool stuff like the nail she gave him last year. Rover could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his polo shirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the seacoast. He would have to wear a military uniform instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of shorts.
He dove downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like pesto. His mom was standing there with a ladle in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a cringe.
"Hi Mommy!" Rover replied unabashedly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the dry toast," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra brown sugar. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Rover replied frantically. "Do we have the cornbread ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," his mother replied thoughtfully. "It only has to age for twenty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Rover replied intensely. "I'm gonna go to the living room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lime sherbet in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the living room 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," Rover responded, as he sat down to his lime sherbet. "Let's hang lots of emerald green balloons and cover the ottoman and the desk with azure crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother steadily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Carolyn Appleby. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a bare foot."
"I'll bet," Rover responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a tear. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."