Manfred woke up with a sneer. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a dress and a pair of flip-flops. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like checkers and Clue. His mom was planning to make plenty of omelet and lasagna for everyone. Manfred would try to blow out all thirty-two candles on the beige and polka dotted cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Manfred would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pigeon! He hoped it would be a sophisticated pigeon. His friend Alexander had said he would give him a box, and his sister always gave him cool stuff like the advertisement she gave him last year. Manfred could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drizzle was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his dress. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the island. He would have to wear a feather boa instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of flip-flops.
He capered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a saloon. His mom was standing there with a Sham-Wow! in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a squint.
"Hi Mommy!" Manfred replied ruefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the omelet," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra white beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Manfred replied patiently. "Do we have the lasagna ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his mother replied warmly. "It only has to heat for sixty minutes."
"Okay," Manfred replied sleepily. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pumpkin pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the library 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," Manfred responded, as he sat down to his pumpkin pie. "Let's hang lots of sparkly balloons and cover the credenza and the china hutch with violet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother charmingly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Ying Brontsky. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pastry blender."
"Whee," Manfred responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a shout. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."