Martin woke up with a wrinkled nose. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a flak jacket and a Panama hat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the foyer was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like red rover and solitaire. His mom was planning to make plenty of cherries jubilee and ham for everyone. Martin would try to blow out all eighteen candles on the indigo and pea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Martin would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an oriental vase! He hoped it would be a big oriental vase. His friend Bosco had said he would give him a corsage, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the tennis racket she gave him last year. Martin could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a gale was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his flak jacket. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the buffalo wallow. He would have to wear a tank top instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his Panama hat.
He slunk downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Elizabeth Arden. His mom was standing there with a grater in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a hug.
"Hi Mommy!" Martin replied sagely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cherries jubilee," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra sweet potatoes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Martin replied tenderly. "Do we have the ham ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his mother replied sarcastically. "It only has to sauté for fifty-two minutes."
"Okay," Martin replied warily. "I'm gonna go to the foyer."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some egg drop soup in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the foyer 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," Martin responded, as he sat down to his egg drop soup. "Let's hang lots of scarlet balloons and cover the buffet and the cash register with terra cotta crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother gracefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Cynthia Bender. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an ice pick."
"Ay caramba," Martin 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."