Ryan woke up with a grunt. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a Superman costume and a beret. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the solarium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like duck duck goose and dominos. His mom was planning to make plenty of lime sherbet and squash blossom soup for everyone. Ryan would try to blow out all sixteen candles on the sea green and ivory cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Ryan would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an air compressor! He hoped it would be a well worn air compressor. His friend Dean had said he would give him a fire hose, and his main squeeze always gave him cool stuff like the saddle she gave him last year. Ryan could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his Superman costume. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the meadow. He would have to wear a dog collar instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his beret.
He sashayed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like potpourri. His mom was standing there with a wooden spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a giggle.
"Hi Mommy!" Ryan replied vigorously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lime sherbet," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra bacon. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Ryan replied impatiently. "Do we have the squash blossom soup ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his mother replied violently. "It only has to broil for forty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Ryan replied majestically. "I'm gonna go to the solarium."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lasagna in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the solarium 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," Ryan responded, as he sat down to his lasagna. "Let's hang lots of white balloons and cover the fainting couch and the recliner with orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother properly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Evelyn Rice. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a piece of cheesecloth."
"Cock-a-doodle-doo," Ryan responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a snuffle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."