Parson woke up with a sniffle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a diaper and a set of vampire fangs. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the ballroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like Candy Land and ring around the rosie. His mom was planning to make plenty of spaghetti and crumb cake for everyone. Parson would try to blow out all fifteen candles on the yellow and peach cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Parson would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a twig! He hoped it would be a gruesome twig. His friend Horatio had said he would give him a Helmholz resonator, and his wife always gave him cool stuff like the needle and thread she gave him last year. Parson could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sleet storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his diaper. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the mesa. He would have to wear a raincoat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his set of vampire fangs.
He zipped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like chocolate. His mom was standing there with a bare foot in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a caress.
"Hi Mommy!" Parson replied sadly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the spaghetti," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra jalapeños. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Parson replied jokingly. "Do we have the crumb cake ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his mother replied sagely. "It only has to sear for sixty-one minutes."
"Okay," Parson replied immediately. "I'm gonna go to the ballroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cornbread in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the ballroom 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," Parson responded, as he sat down to his cornbread. "Let's hang lots of olive green balloons and cover the futon and the piano with orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother intensely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Ling Barrymore. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cheesecloth."
"Zzzzz," Parson 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."