Larry woke up with a glare. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a nose ring and a sombrero. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited six of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like volleyball and Simon Says. His mom was planning to make plenty of bonbons and egg drop soup for everyone. Larry would try to blow out all two candles on the metallic red and purple cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Larry would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a notebook! He hoped it would be a burned notebook. His friend Ollie had said he would give him a comic book, and his friend always gave him cool stuff like the ticket she gave him last year. Larry could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an ice storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his nose ring. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the gully. He would have to wear a necklace instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his sombrero.
He waded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like baked beans. His mom was standing there with a sharp knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a chuckle.
"Hi Mommy!" Larry replied fearlessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the bonbons," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra lima beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Larry replied languidly. "Do we have the egg drop soup ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his mother replied breathlessly. "It only has to slow cook for fifty-five minutes."
"Okay," Larry replied urgently. "I'm gonna go to the closet."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some bonbons in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the closet 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," Larry responded, as he sat down to his bonbons. "Let's hang lots of olive green balloons and cover the piano and the catbird seat with crimson crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother surreptitiously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Fawn Lord. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a paring knife."
"Oops," Larry responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a growl. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."