Arnold woke up with a growl. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a wedding dress and a leotard. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the guest room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twelve of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like cribbage and marbles. His mom was planning to make plenty of wienerschnitzel and hors d'oeuvre for everyone. Arnold would try to blow out all nineteen candles on the navy blue and orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Arnold would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a diary! He hoped it would be a fabulous diary. His friend Mitch had said he would give him a duffel bag, and his grandmother always gave him cool stuff like the piano she gave him last year. Arnold could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a thunderstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his wedding dress. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the buffalo wallow. He would have to wear a baseball cap instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his leotard.
He hobbled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like toothpaste. His mom was standing there with a foot in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a fist bump.
"Hi Mommy!" Arnold replied hopelessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the wienerschnitzel," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra active dry yeast. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Arnold replied clumsily. "Do we have the hors d'oeuvre ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," his mother replied hopelessly. "It only has to blanch for eighty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Arnold replied stealthily. "I'm gonna go to the guest room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some catfish stew in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the guest room 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," Arnold responded, as he sat down to his catfish stew. "Let's hang lots of violet balloons and cover the four-poster bed and the wardrobe with tan crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother bitterly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, LaDonna Fisher. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a bare foot."
"Grrrrr," Arnold responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a wrinkled nose. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."