Lee woke up with a twitch. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a Hawaiian shirt and a T-shirt. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the hall was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like blackjack and rummy. His mom was planning to make plenty of lime sherbet and shrimp for everyone. Lee would try to blow out all sixteen candles on the chartreuse and chartreuse cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Lee would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a dictionary! He hoped it would be a leather dictionary. His friend Woody had said he would give him a washrag, and his dad always gave him cool stuff like the fingernail clipper she gave him last year. Lee could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dense fog was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his Hawaiian shirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the glen. He would have to wear a pair of nylons instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his T-shirt.
He slumped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like enchiladas. His mom was standing there with an oven mitt in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a wince.
"Hi Mommy!" Lee replied blissfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lime sherbet," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra mustard seed. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Lee replied nervously. "Do we have the shrimp ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his mother replied neatly. "It only has to scramble for twenty-six minutes."
"Okay," Lee replied glumly. "I'm gonna go to the hall."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some banana split in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the hall 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," Lee responded, as he sat down to his banana split. "Let's hang lots of blue balloons and cover the bench and the workbench with beige crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother sorrowfully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Tonya Berry. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a strainer."
"My word," Lee responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a snort. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."