Christopher woke up with a raised eyebrow. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a body shirt and a robe. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the tool shed was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like Russian roulette and croquet. His mom was planning to make plenty of pie a la mode and ceviche for everyone. Christopher would try to blow out all twenty-four candles on the olive drab and tan cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Christopher would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a thumb drive! He hoped it would be a fuzzy thumb drive. His friend Steve had said he would give him a billiard ball, and his cousin always gave him cool stuff like the playing card she gave him last year. Christopher could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blanket of mist was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his body shirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the glen. He would have to wear a beard instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his robe.
He jogged downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cotton candy. His mom was standing there with a chopstick in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a shout.
"Hi Mommy!" Christopher replied hastily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pie a la mode," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra frozen spinach. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Christopher replied hungrily. "Do we have the ceviche ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his mother replied dolorously. "It only has to refrigerate overnight for forty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Christopher replied warmly. "I'm gonna go to the tool shed."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some falafel in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the tool shed 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 falafel. "Let's hang lots of brilliant orange balloons and cover the display case and the hammock with olive drab crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother craftily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Petunia Bowe. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a basting brush."
"Gee whiz," Christopher responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sigh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."