Del woke up with a grunt. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a party hat and a bulletproof vest. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the garage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like hearts and seven-up. His mom was planning to make plenty of shrimp and enchiladas for everyone. Del would try to blow out all fourteen candles on the amber and navy blue cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Del would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a feather duster! He hoped it would be a crude feather duster. His friend Damon had said he would give him a pair of binoculars, and his grandfather always gave him cool stuff like the salt shaker she gave him last year. Del could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a lightning storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his party hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the buffalo wallow. He would have to wear a pair of briefs instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his bulletproof vest.
He capered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like buttermilk. His mom was standing there with a basting brush in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a jeer.
"Hi Mommy!" Del replied truculently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the shrimp," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra cottage cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Del replied victoriously. "Do we have the enchiladas ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his mother replied noisily. "It only has to sauté for seventeen minutes."
"Okay," Del replied softly. "I'm gonna go to the garage."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some mashed potatoes in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the garage 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," Del responded, as he sat down to his mashed potatoes. "Let's hang lots of orange balloons and cover the bookcase and the bench with terra cotta crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother violently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Dani Sekora. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a meat tenderizer."
"Well I'll be," Del responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a jeer. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."