Marty woke up with a pound of the chest. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of earrings and a beehive. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the hall was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited four of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like Monopoly and badminton. His mom was planning to make plenty of clam chowder and lobster for everyone. Marty would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the magenta and pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Marty would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Hostess Ding Dong! He hoped it would be a rusty Hostess Ding Dong. His friend Drew had said he would give him a sack, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the tablet computer she gave him last year. Marty could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a tornado was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of earrings. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the peninsula. He would have to wear an apron instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his beehive.
He scampered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like tea. His mom was standing there with a ladle in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a belly laugh.
"Hi Mommy!" Marty replied despondently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the clam chowder," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra canned beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Marty replied courageously. "Do we have the lobster ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his mother replied stealthily. "It only has to heat for fifty-one minutes."
"Okay," Marty replied repeatedly. "I'm gonna go to the hall."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some doughnuts in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the hall 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," Marty responded, as he sat down to his doughnuts. "Let's hang lots of azure balloons and cover the toilet and the catbird seat with pea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother gratefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Pleasance Prang. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a melon baller."
"Very well done," Marty responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a face palm. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."