Desmond woke up with a snigger. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a wristwatch and a set of scrubs. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the auditorium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like rummy and shuffleboard. His mom was planning to make plenty of borscht and corn on the cob for everyone. Desmond would try to blow out all nine candles on the amber and emerald green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Desmond would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a backpack! He hoped it would be a porcelain backpack. His friend Tom had said he would give him a lemon, and his mother-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the radio she gave him last year. Desmond could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a tornado was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his wristwatch. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the gulch. He would have to wear a set of braces instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his set of scrubs.
He strolled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like hamburgers. His mom was standing there with a paring knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a wag of the finger.
"Hi Mommy!" Desmond replied sympathetically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the borscht," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra cod fillets. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Desmond replied elatedly. "Do we have the corn on the cob ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his mother replied quickly. "It only has to freeze for thirty-four minutes."
"Okay," Desmond replied blindly. "I'm gonna go to the auditorium."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tortillas in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the auditorium 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," Desmond responded, as he sat down to his tortillas. "Let's hang lots of lavender balloons and cover the table and the windowsill with fuchsia crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother immediately. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Merna Sullivan. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a slotted spoon."
"Dubious," Desmond responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a laugh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."