Dusty woke up with an air kiss. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a baseball cap and a denim skirt. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the parlor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like pool and tennis. His mom was planning to make plenty of cotton candy and cornbread for everyone. Dusty would try to blow out all twenty-seven candles on the beige and amber cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Dusty would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a can of sardines! He hoped it would be a wooden can of sardines. His friend Vance had said he would give him an orchid, and his dad always gave him cool stuff like the spittoon she gave him last year. Dusty could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot, sunny day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his baseball cap. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the peninsula. He would have to wear a few miniature rags instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his denim skirt.
He waded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like used books. His mom was standing there with a dull knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a sneeze.
"Hi Mommy!" Dusty replied bravely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cotton candy," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra cream of mushroom soup. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Dusty replied wearily. "Do we have the cornbread ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his mother replied suddenly. "It only has to age for forty-two minutes."
"Okay," Dusty replied frantically. "I'm gonna go to the parlor."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some scrambled eggs in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the parlor 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," Dusty responded, as he sat down to his scrambled eggs. "Let's hang lots of teal balloons and cover the bookcase and the display case with black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother suavely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Fran Hoffa. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cookie cutter."
"W00t," Dusty responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a wince. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."