Bronk woke up with a stiff upper lip. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a jerkin and a sweatshirt. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the auditorium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eleven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like bridge and blackjack. His mom was planning to make plenty of popcorn and fried okra for everyone. Bronk would try to blow out all twenty-eight candles on the pea green and lime-green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Bronk would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a coin! He hoped it would be a ruined coin. His friend Rick had said he would give him a can of beer, and his grandmother always gave him cool stuff like the peach she gave him last year. Bronk could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dust storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his jerkin. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the plain. He would have to wear a derby instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his sweatshirt.
He danced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like orange peel. His mom was standing there with an egg cutter in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a hoot.
"Hi Mommy!" Bronk replied neatly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the popcorn," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pears. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Bronk replied resignedly. "Do we have the fried okra ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his mother replied charmingly. "It only has to scramble for fifty minutes."
"Okay," Bronk replied grimly. "I'm gonna go to the auditorium."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cabbage in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the auditorium 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," Bronk responded, as he sat down to his cabbage. "Let's hang lots of jet black balloons and cover the ironing board and the four-poster bed with teal crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother proudly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Jodene Dingwell. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a slotted spoon."
"Gee," Bronk responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a wince. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."