Helmut woke up with a flutter. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a gun belt and a toupee. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the garage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-five of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like treasure hunt and old maid. His mom was planning to make plenty of crumb cake and banana split for everyone. Helmut would try to blow out all twenty candles on the peach and chocolate brown cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Helmut would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a cardboard box! He hoped it would be a green cardboard box. His friend Jimmy had said he would give him a fingernail clipper, and his main squeeze always gave him cool stuff like the flag she gave him last year. Helmut could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drizzle was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his gun belt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the seashore. He would have to wear a stovepipe hat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his toupee.
He leapt downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Lancôme. His mom was standing there with a corkscrew in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a finger gun.
"Hi Mommy!" Helmut replied mysteriously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the crumb cake," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra kiwis. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Helmut replied again. "Do we have the banana split ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his mother replied quietly. "It only has to simmer for sixty-two minutes."
"Okay," Helmut replied anxiously. "I'm gonna go to the garage."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken pot pie 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," Helmut responded, as he sat down to his chicken pot pie. "Let's hang lots of violet balloons and cover the washstand and the stairway with violet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother blankly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Clarisse Crowe. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a mixing spoon."
"Tailfeathers," Helmut 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."