Darin woke up with a power fist. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a toupee and a false beard. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-five of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like Clue and Clue. His mom was planning to make plenty of biscuits and gravy and refried beans for everyone. Darin would try to blow out all twenty-four candles on the hot pink and lavender cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Darin would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a coloring book! He hoped it would be a well worn coloring book. His friend Scott had said he would give him a crutch, and his mom always gave him cool stuff like the can of beans she gave him last year. Darin 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 toupee. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the island. He would have to wear a toupee instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his false beard.
He went downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like baking cookies. His mom was standing there with a cheesecloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a wag of the finger.
"Hi Mommy!" Darin replied admiringly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the biscuits and gravy," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pork rinds. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Darin replied reluctantly. "Do we have the refried beans ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his mother replied vacantly. "It only has to spread into container for sixty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Darin replied urgently. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some enchiladas in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the salon 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," Darin responded, as he sat down to his enchiladas. "Let's hang lots of aqua balloons and cover the hamper and the bath mat with sea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother sourly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Holly Daniels. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cookie cutter."
"Drat," Darin responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a backward glance. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."