Maloney woke up with a flutter. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a tattoo and a tie. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like badminton and Mother May I. His dad was planning to make plenty of country glazed ham and scrambled eggs for everyone. Maloney would try to blow out all five candles on the green and amber cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Maloney would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a sea shell! He hoped it would be a bulky sea shell. His friend Megan had said she would give him a chain, and his sister-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the water bottle she gave him last year. Maloney could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drought was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his tattoo. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the beach. He would have to wear a locket instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his tie.
He hobbled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like fine perfume. His dad was standing there with a blender in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a chortle.
"Hi Daddy!" Maloney replied sheepishly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the country glazed ham," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra tapioca. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Maloney replied tenderly. "Do we have the scrambled eggs ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his father replied excitedly. "It only has to roast for fifty-three minutes."
"Okay," Maloney replied admiringly. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken soup in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the library first?" he begged.
"It looks just like it always does," his father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Maloney responded, as he sat down to his chicken soup. "Let's hang lots of olive drab balloons and cover the piano and the cupboard with polka dotted crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father blindly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Henrietta Yamaguchi. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato peeler."
"Thpft," Maloney responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a curtsey. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."