Broderick woke up with a gurgle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of toe shoes and a sari. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the pantry was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like duck duck goose and roulette. His mom was planning to make plenty of bread and butter and beef bouillon for everyone. Broderick would try to blow out all fifteen candles on the forest green and scarlet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Broderick would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pom-pom! He hoped it would be a shiny pom-pom. His friend Dean had said he would give him a wastebasket, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the stick of gum she gave him last year. Broderick could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of toe shoes. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the treetop. He would have to wear a fig leaf instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his sari.
He pranced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like wine. His mom was standing there with a knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a woof.
"Hi Mommy!" Broderick replied truculently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the bread and butter," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra ground mustard. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Broderick replied sourly. "Do we have the beef bouillon ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his mother replied hopelessly. "It only has to shake for one minute."
"Okay," Broderick replied joyously. "I'm gonna go to the pantry."
"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 pantry 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," Broderick responded, as he sat down to his macaroni and cheese. "Let's hang lots of camouflage balloons and cover the wooden crate and the sofa with ivory crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother flightily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Ling Tang. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric mixer."
"Yowsers," Broderick responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a squint. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."