Mac woke up with a furrowed brow. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of knickerbockers and a set of camo fatigues. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like chess and duck duck goose. His mom was planning to make plenty of crab rangoon and fish and chips for everyone. Mac would try to blow out all five candles on the hot pink and aqua cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Mac would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a doll! He hoped it would be a small doll. His friend Roscoe had said he would give him a piece of paper, and his dad always gave him cool stuff like the teddy bear she gave him last year. Mac could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a period of warm weather was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of knickerbockers. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the cliff. He would have to wear a dirndl instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his set of camo fatigues.
He waded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like chloroform. His mom was standing there with a cheesecloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a chuckle.
"Hi Mommy!" Mac replied firmly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the crab rangoon," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra anchovies. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Mac replied later. "Do we have the fish and chips ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," his mother replied charmingly. "It only has to place on serving dish for seventy-six minutes."
"Okay," Mac replied slowly. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some macaroni and cheese in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the library 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," Mac responded, as he sat down to his macaroni and cheese. "Let's hang lots of jet black balloons and cover the canopy bed and the ironing board with pea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother flightily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Matilda Turner. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a meat tenderizer."
"Bravo," Mac responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sneeze. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."