Roger woke up with a crow. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a bonnet and a false beard. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the front porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like red rover and Scrabble. His mom was planning to make plenty of candy and smoked salmon for everyone. Roger would try to blow out all two candles on the chartreuse and brilliant orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Roger would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a horseshoe! He hoped it would be a decrepit horseshoe. His friend Broderick had said he would give him a cigarette, and his mother always gave him cool stuff like the cupcake she gave him last year. Roger could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a snowstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his bonnet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the country meadow. He would have to wear a balaclava instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his false beard.
He waltzed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like pesto. His mom was standing there with a ladle in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a grunt.
"Hi Mommy!" Roger replied shyly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the candy," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra cracker crumbs. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Roger replied sourly. "Do we have the smoked salmon ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his mother replied arrogantly. "It only has to scramble for seventy-seven minutes."
"Okay," Roger replied gleefully. "I'm gonna go to the front porch."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some sweet potatoes in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the front porch 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," Roger responded, as he sat down to his sweet potatoes. "Let's hang lots of jet black balloons and cover the hatstand and the file cabinet with brown crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother deliberately. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Cecelia Oglesby. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a wooden spoon."
"Lord be praised," Roger responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a kiss. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."