Timothy woke up with a snigger. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a name tag and a ring. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the tool shed was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like battleship and old maid. His mom was planning to make plenty of egg rolls and wienerschnitzel for everyone. Timothy would try to blow out all thirty-three candles on the pink and burgundy cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Timothy would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a hockey puck! He hoped it would be a coarse hockey puck. His friend Hunter had said he would give him a pink flamingo, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the towel she gave him last year. Timothy could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a windstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his name tag. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the mesa. He would have to wear a mortarboard instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his ring.
He sprinted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like kerosene. His mom was standing there with an electric paint mixer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a pout.
"Hi Mommy!" Timothy replied patiently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the egg rolls," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra potatoes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Timothy replied charmingly. "Do we have the wienerschnitzel ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his mother replied furiously. "It only has to boil for sixty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Timothy replied tenderly. "I'm gonna go to the tool shed."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some roast Cornish game hen in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the tool shed 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," Timothy responded, as he sat down to his roast Cornish game hen. "Let's hang lots of pink balloons and cover the hamper and the file cabinet with maroon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother joyously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Wanda Palomino. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a sharp knife."
"Buzzards," Timothy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a flinch. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."