Carl woke up with a finger gun. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a military uniform and a flour sack. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the garage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like musical chairs and Candy Land. His mom was planning to make plenty of bonbons and Froot Loops for everyone. Carl would try to blow out all thirty-three candles on the khaki and white cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Carl would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bat! He hoped it would be an amber bat. His friend Lynn had said he would give him a fingernail clipper, and his aunt always gave him cool stuff like the horseshoe she gave him last year. Carl could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hailstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his military uniform. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the park. He would have to wear a pair of moon boots instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his flour sack.
He sailed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Chanel. His mom was standing there with a dish cloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a wince.
"Hi Mommy!" Carl replied madly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the bonbons," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra mint leaves. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Carl replied boldly. "Do we have the Froot Loops ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his mother replied repeatedly. "It only has to scramble for twenty-three minutes."
"Okay," Carl replied suspiciously. "I'm gonna go to the garage."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some roast turkey in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the garage 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," Carl responded, as he sat down to his roast turkey. "Let's hang lots of scarlet balloons and cover the water bed and the canopy bed with red crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother warmly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Beatrice Lott. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a piece of cheesecloth."
"Goodness me," Carl responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a twitch. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."