Ronnie 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 set of vampire fangs and an Eton jacket. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like battleship and badminton. His mom was planning to make plenty of candy and falafel for everyone. Ronnie would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the amber and crimson cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Ronnie would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an orchid! He hoped it would be a dry orchid. His friend Jess had said he would give him an air compressor, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the iPhone she gave him last year. Ronnie could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sleet storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his set of vampire fangs. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the swamp. He would have to wear a flour sack instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his Eton jacket.
He lumbered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Pine-Sol. His mom was standing there with a ladle in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a honk.
"Hi Mommy!" Ronnie replied timidly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the candy," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra fresh garlic. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Ronnie replied brashly. "Do we have the falafel ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his mother replied uneasily. "It only has to blend for fifty-three minutes."
"Okay," Ronnie replied clumsily. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some sauerkraut 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," Ronnie responded, as he sat down to his sauerkraut. "Let's hang lots of silver balloons and cover the bed and the pedestal with scarlet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother fondly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Angela Brady. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an egg cutter."
"As if," Ronnie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a guffaw. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."