Dean woke up with a shiver. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a gold medal and a Speedo. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like cribbage and musical chairs. His mom was planning to make plenty of beef bouillon and lime sherbet for everyone. Dean would try to blow out all thirty-five candles on the golden and brilliant orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Dean would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a flute! He hoped it would be an abnormal flute. His friend Clifford had said he would give him a paperweight, and his mother-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the primrose she gave him last year. Dean could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an earthquake was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his gold medal. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the jungle. He would have to wear a tutu instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his Speedo.
He padded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cedar. His mom was standing there with a strainer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a shout.
"Hi Mommy!" Dean replied strictly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the beef bouillon," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra dill pickles. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Dean replied kindly. "Do we have the lime sherbet ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his mother replied languidly. "It only has to mix jokingly for seventy-three minutes."
"Okay," Dean replied later. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fried okra in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the library 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," Dean responded, as he sat down to his fried okra. "Let's hang lots of mauve balloons and cover the billiard table and the dining table with periwinkle crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother diligently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Dani Gifford. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a turkey baster."
"Golly," Dean responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a belch. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."