Don woke up with a fist bump. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a bracelet and a bridal gown. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited sixteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like poker and Monopoly. His mom was planning to make plenty of roast Cornish game hen and macaroni for everyone. Don would try to blow out all seventeen candles on the camouflage and salmon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Don would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a can of soup! He hoped it would be a luxurious can of soup. His friend Vic had said he would give him a napkin, and his grandfather always gave him cool stuff like the mirror she gave him last year. Don could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dust storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his bracelet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the glen. He would have to wear a hair net instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his bridal gown.
He ambled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like pencil shavings. His mom was standing there with a pastry blender in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a caress.
"Hi Mommy!" Don replied sadly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the roast Cornish game hen," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra yogurt. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Don replied sharply. "Do we have the macaroni ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," his mother replied tearfully. "It only has to toast for fifty-five minutes."
"Okay," Don replied calmly. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some squash blossom soup 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," Don responded, as he sat down to his squash blossom soup. "Let's hang lots of olive drab balloons and cover the umbrella stand and the carpet with golden crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother madly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Bernadette Tran. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a corkscrew."
"No way," Don responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a stiff upper lip. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."