Bradley woke up with a snuffle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a gorilla suit and a helmet. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the pantry was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twelve of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like blackjack and volleyball. His mom was planning to make plenty of tofu and hash for everyone. Bradley would try to blow out all twenty-five candles on the yellow and periwinkle cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Bradley would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a helmet! He hoped it would be a hand-carved helmet. His friend Carl had said he would give him a wastebasket, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the magazine she gave him last year. Bradley could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pelting rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his gorilla suit. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the mountain. He would have to wear a locket instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his helmet.
He capered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like popcorn. His mom was standing there with a potato peeler in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a smack.
"Hi Mommy!" Bradley replied crazily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the tofu," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra oatmeal. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Bradley replied lightly. "Do we have the hash ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his mother replied fervently. "It only has to shake for eighteen minutes."
"Okay," Bradley replied caustically. "I'm gonna go to the pantry."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some clam chowder in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the pantry 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," Bradley responded, as he sat down to his clam chowder. "Let's hang lots of turquoise balloons and cover the fainting couch and the hamper with yellow crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother grandly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Priscilla Mouse. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of chopsticks."
"Of course," Bradley responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a wince. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."