Rip woke up with a wrinkled nose. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a tuxedo and a romper. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the rec room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like trivia and hopscotch. His mom was planning to make plenty of roast turkey and omelet for everyone. Rip would try to blow out all six candles on the olive green and yellow cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Rip would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a crayon! He hoped it would be a ridiculous crayon. His friend Lawrence had said he would give him a can of shaving cream, and his grandpa always gave him cool stuff like the rag she gave him last year. Rip could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pall of doom was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his tuxedo. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the battlefield. He would have to wear a lab coat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his romper.
He whirled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rose petals. His mom was standing there with a dish cloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a shout.
"Hi Mommy!" Rip replied offhandedly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the roast turkey," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra egg noodles. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Rip replied automatically. "Do we have the omelet ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his mother replied offhandedly. "It only has to marinate for forty-six minutes."
"Okay," Rip replied ferociously. "I'm gonna go to the rec room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pecan pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the rec room 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," Rip responded, as he sat down to his pecan pie. "Let's hang lots of beige balloons and cover the china hutch and the overstuffed chair with navy blue crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother coldly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Melissa MacIntire. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric mixer."
"Be still, my beating heart," Rip 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."