Helmut woke up with a smirk. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a towel and a rain coat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the auditorium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited two of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like checkers and dominos. His mom was planning to make plenty of dry toast and succotash for everyone. Helmut would try to blow out all seven candles on the golden and amber cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Helmut would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a biscuit! He hoped it would be an unusual biscuit. His friend Jay had said he would give him an amulet, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the backpack she gave him last year. Helmut could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his towel. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the outback. He would have to wear a tool belt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his rain coat.
He stormed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cherry blossoms. His mom was standing there with an electric paint mixer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a raspberry.
"Hi Mommy!" Helmut replied temperamentally. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the dry toast," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra flank steak. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Helmut replied crazily. "Do we have the succotash ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his mother replied humbly. "It only has to sear for twenty-two minutes."
"Okay," Helmut replied merrily. "I'm gonna go to the auditorium."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some applesauce in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the auditorium 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," Helmut responded, as he sat down to his applesauce. "Let's hang lots of yellow balloons and cover the nightstand and the recliner with navy blue crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother admiringly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Josephine Finley. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a melon baller."
"Phooey," Helmut responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a simper. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."