Lauren woke up with a flush. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a diamond necklace and a bracelet. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the den was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fifteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like chess and cribbage. His mom was planning to make plenty of French fries and cookies for everyone. Lauren would try to blow out all nineteen candles on the yellow and lavender cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Lauren would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a box of Kleenex! He hoped it would be a striking box of Kleenex. His friend Bub had said he would give him a pillow, and his friend always gave him cool stuff like the twig she gave him last year. Lauren could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a driving rain was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his diamond necklace. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the field. He would have to wear a diamond necklace instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his bracelet.
He reeled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like moth balls. His mom was standing there with a wooden spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a crow.
"Hi Mommy!" Lauren replied needlessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the French fries," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra shrimp. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Lauren replied curiously. "Do we have the cookies ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," his mother replied defiantly. "It only has to slow cook for thirty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Lauren replied briskly. "I'm gonna go to the den."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some potatoes and gravy in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the den 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," Lauren responded, as he sat down to his potatoes and gravy. "Let's hang lots of scarlet balloons and cover the bath mat and the bar stool with blue crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother excitedly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Cindi Tuttle. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato peeler."
"If only," Lauren responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a titter. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."