Geoffrey woke up with a grin. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a poncho and a set of camo fatigues. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited two of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like ring around the rosie and Scrabble. His mom was planning to make plenty of Swiss cheese and strawberry shortcake for everyone. Geoffrey would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the grey and carrot-orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Geoffrey would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a statue! He hoped it would be a bizarre statue. His friend Cedric had said he would give him a baseball, and his aunt always gave him cool stuff like the cage she gave him last year. Geoffrey could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainbow was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his poncho. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the grassy knoll. He would have to wear a shirt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his set of camo fatigues.
He swaggered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like fish. His mom was standing there with an egg cutter in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a hug.
"Hi Mommy!" Geoffrey replied temperamentally. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Swiss cheese," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra cracker crumbs. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Geoffrey replied irritably. "Do we have the strawberry shortcake ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," his mother replied gruffly. "It only has to bake at 450 degrees F for fifteen minutes."
"Okay," Geoffrey replied grudgingly. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lime sherbet in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the salon 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," Geoffrey responded, as he sat down to his lime sherbet. "Let's hang lots of silver balloons and cover the computer and the bar stool with crimson crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother hopefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Mildred Shackleton. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a basting brush."
"Yoohoo," Geoffrey responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a flush. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."