Rip woke up with a chuckle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a beach towel and a fedora. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the linen closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited sixteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like marbles and musical chairs. His mom was planning to make plenty of applesauce and burritos for everyone. Rip would try to blow out all twenty-seven candles on the brown and sparkly cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Rip would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a dish! He hoped it would be a narrow dish. His friend Justin had said he would give him a whoopee cushion, and his fiancée always gave him cool stuff like the orchid she gave him last year. Rip could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a windstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his beach towel. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the meadow. He would have to wear a burqa instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his fedora.
He darted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like used books. His mom was standing there with a knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a cheer.
"Hi Mommy!" Rip replied smoothly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the applesauce," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra thinly sliced radishes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Rip replied angrily. "Do we have the burritos ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," his mother replied sympathetically. "It only has to heat for twenty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Rip replied needlessly. "I'm gonna go to the linen closet."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken chow mein in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the linen closet 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," Rip responded, as he sat down to his chicken chow mein. "Let's hang lots of turquoise balloons and cover the chest of drawers and the china cabinet with hot pink crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother demurely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Hildegarde Champion. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of tongs."
"Ouch," Rip 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."