Max woke up with a hug. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a loincloth and a coat of mail. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the kitchen was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eighteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like Clue and old maid. His mom was planning to make plenty of applesauce and egg rolls for everyone. Max would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the red and azure cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Max would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a dog collar! He hoped it would be an imported dog collar. His friend Randall had said he would give him a sack of potatoes, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the flute she gave him last year. Max could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a downpour was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his loincloth. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the moonscape. He would have to wear a bow tie instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his coat of mail.
He waddled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like sea mist. His mom was standing there with a napkin in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a guffaw.
"Hi Mommy!" Max replied energetically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the applesauce," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra ground lamb. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Max replied innocently. "Do we have the egg rolls ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his mother replied admiringly. "It only has to heat for four minutes."
"Okay," Max replied sourly. "I'm gonna go to the kitchen."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pie a la mode in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the kitchen 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," Max responded, as he sat down to his pie a la mode. "Let's hang lots of black balloons and cover the windowsill and the bar stool with emerald green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother majestically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Claire Grigsby. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric mixer."
"Stoked," Max responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a glare. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."