Steve woke up with a growl. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a flour sack and a pair of culottes. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the master bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like badminton and old maid. His mom was planning to make plenty of pancakes and borscht for everyone. Steve would try to blow out all four candles on the grey and camouflage cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Steve would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a microphone! He hoped it would be a rough microphone. His friend Mitch had said he would give him a stick of gum, and his sister always gave him cool stuff like the toolbox she gave him last year. Steve could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his flour sack. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the buffalo wallow. He would have to wear a pair of ear muffs instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of culottes.
He waded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like pepper. His mom was standing there with a food processor in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a hoot.
"Hi Mommy!" Steve replied happily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pancakes," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra okra. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Steve replied languidly. "Do we have the borscht ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his mother replied properly. "It only has to sear outside for twelve minutes."
"Okay," Steve replied fondly. "I'm gonna go to the master bedroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some crumb cake in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the master bedroom 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," Steve responded, as he sat down to his crumb cake. "Let's hang lots of golden balloons and cover the water bed and the overstuffed chair with terra cotta crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother courteously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Brooke Murray. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a garlic press."
"W00t," Steve responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a belch. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."