Christopher woke up with a cringe. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a garland and a bustier. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirty of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like battleship and dominos. His mom was planning to make plenty of sauerkraut and egg rolls for everyone. Christopher would try to blow out all twenty-six candles on the lavender and polka dotted cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Christopher would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pack of gum! He hoped it would be a worn pack of gum. His friend Norm had said he would give him a fish bowl, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the bird cage she gave him last year. Christopher could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a gale was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his garland. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the gully. He would have to wear a cap instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his bustier.
He traipsed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like an ashtray. His mom was standing there with a fork in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a gurgle.
"Hi Mommy!" Christopher replied trustingly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the sauerkraut," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra prime rib. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Christopher replied impatiently. "Do we have the egg rolls ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his mother replied gently. "It only has to fry for thirty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Christopher replied innocently. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some dirty rice 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," Christopher responded, as he sat down to his dirty rice. "Let's hang lots of orange balloons and cover the sofa and the recliner with polka dotted crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother gracefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Mama Schaffer. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a fork."
"Blecch," Christopher responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a titter. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."