Marv woke up with a growl. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a tinfoil hat and a pair of gloves. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the foyer was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like billiards and seven-up. His mom was planning to make plenty of candy and crab rangoon for everyone. Marv would try to blow out all thirty-one candles on the salmon and brilliant orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Marv would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bird bath! He hoped it would be an aromatic bird bath. His friend Ian had said he would give him a biscuit, and his mother always gave him cool stuff like the clothespin she gave him last year. Marv could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainbow was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his tinfoil hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the badlands area. He would have to wear a hoodie instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of gloves.
He jogged downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like gardenias. His mom was standing there with a melon baller in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a flutter.
"Hi Mommy!" Marv replied rapidly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the candy," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra whale blubber. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Marv replied gruffly. "Do we have the crab rangoon ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his mother replied impatiently. "It only has to blanch for twenty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Marv replied charmingly. "I'm gonna go to the foyer."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cotton candy in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the foyer 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," Marv responded, as he sat down to his cotton candy. "Let's hang lots of indigo balloons and cover the washstand and the end table with navy blue crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother cheerfully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Dinah Crick. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a grater."
"Aaack," Marv responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a flutter. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."