Simeon woke up with a pout. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a watch and a towel. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the den was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like Russian roulette and Clue. His mom was planning to make plenty of pretzels and sweet potatoes for everyone. Simeon would try to blow out all four candles on the orange and fuchsia cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Simeon would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a notepad! He hoped it would be a dry notepad. His friend Jason had said he would give him a button, and his mommy always gave him cool stuff like the advertisement she gave him last year. Simeon could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a thunderstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his watch. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the glen. He would have to wear a sport coat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his towel.
He ambled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like strawberries. His mom was standing there with a food processor in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a coo.
"Hi Mommy!" Simeon replied intensely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pretzels," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra canned milk. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Simeon replied lamely. "Do we have the sweet potatoes ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his mother replied deftly. "It only has to age for thirty minutes."
"Okay," Simeon replied blindly. "I'm gonna go to the den."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken soup 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," Simeon responded, as he sat down to his chicken soup. "Let's hang lots of tan balloons and cover the floor and the coffee table with green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother warily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Wanda Cleveland. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a basting brush."
"Anyhoo," Simeon responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a shrug. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."