Butch woke up with a grimace. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a fedora and a visor. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the living room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like tennis and chess. His mom was planning to make plenty of clam chowder and ham for everyone. Butch would try to blow out all twenty-one candles on the red and purple cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Butch would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a whistle! He hoped it would be an autographed whistle. His friend Lucifer had said he would give him a cotton ball, and his mother-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the stapler she gave him last year. Butch 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 fedora. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the creek. He would have to wear a tam o'shanter instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his visor.
He crept downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like fresh-baked bread. His mom was standing there with a paring knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a twitch.
"Hi Mommy!" Butch replied suspiciously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the clam chowder," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra peanut butter. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Butch replied irritably. "Do we have the ham ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his mother replied timidly. "It only has to broil for twenty-four minutes."
"Okay," Butch replied suddenly. "I'm gonna go to the living room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lasagna in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the living room 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," Butch responded, as he sat down to his lasagna. "Let's hang lots of lavender balloons and cover the beanbag chair and the bunk bed with magenta crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother peevishly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Louise Barbee. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric paint mixer."
"Great Caesar's ghost," Butch responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a fist bump. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."