Britt woke up with a pound of the chest. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a tinfoil hat and a jacket. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the solarium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited six of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like duck duck goose and doctor. His mom was planning to make plenty of fried okra and cornbread for everyone. Britt would try to blow out all twenty-one candles on the mauve and scarlet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Britt would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a stick of gum! He hoped it would be an important stick of gum. His friend Ryan had said he would give him a spool of thread, and his aunt always gave him cool stuff like the vase she gave him last year. Britt could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a lightning storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his tinfoil hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the veld. He would have to wear a bandana instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his jacket.
He cantered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a papermill. His mom was standing there with a pastry blender in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a flutter.
"Hi Mommy!" Britt replied victoriously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fried okra," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra lime Jell-O. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Britt replied blissfully. "Do we have the cornbread ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his mother replied carelessly. "It only has to fry dreamily in stolen skillet for seventy-two minutes."
"Okay," Britt replied positively. "I'm gonna go to the solarium."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some hors d'oeuvre in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the solarium 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," Britt responded, as he sat down to his hors d'oeuvre. "Let's hang lots of maroon balloons and cover the bookshelf and the coffee table with golden crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother rapidly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Jill Wooten. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cheesecloth."
"Far out, man," Britt responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a backward glance. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."