Ian woke up with a pucker. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of roller skates and a pair of toe shoes. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the family room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited two of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like dominos and Mother May I. His mom was planning to make plenty of cornbread and fish and chips for everyone. Ian would try to blow out all seventeen candles on the rose and fuchsia cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Ian would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a nail! He hoped it would be a damaged nail. His friend Joe had said he would give him a can of soup, and his main squeeze always gave him cool stuff like the cactus plant she gave him last year. Ian could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drought was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of roller skates. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the treetop. He would have to wear a pair of bell-bottoms instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of toe shoes.
He traipsed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a skunk. His mom was standing there with a dull knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a bound.
"Hi Mommy!" Ian replied silently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cornbread," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra honey. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Ian replied primly. "Do we have the fish and chips ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his mother replied urgently. "It only has to braise for twelve minutes."
"Okay," Ian replied later. "I'm gonna go to the family room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tacos in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the family 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," Ian responded, as he sat down to his tacos. "Let's hang lots of sparkly balloons and cover the computer and the card table with orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother suspiciously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Lillie Broghammer. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato peeler."
"Yay," Ian responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a caress. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."