Darryl woke up with a smile. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a bra and a letter jacket. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the atrium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like Parcheesi and baseball. His mom was planning to make plenty of waffles and potatoes and gravy for everyone. Darryl would try to blow out all twenty-nine candles on the khaki and violet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Darryl would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a sea shell! He hoped it would be an ornate sea shell. His friend Mickey had said he would give him a comb, and his dad always gave him cool stuff like the picture she gave him last year. Darryl could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dust storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his bra. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the village. He would have to wear a Hawaiian shirt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his letter jacket.
He stalked downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like beer. His mom was standing there with a melon baller in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a pucker.
"Hi Mommy!" Darryl replied strangely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the waffles," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra powdered milk. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Darryl replied sourly. "Do we have the potatoes and gravy ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," his mother replied numbly. "It only has to spread into container for forty-four minutes."
"Okay," Darryl replied silently. "I'm gonna go to the atrium."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some applesauce in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the atrium 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," Darryl responded, as he sat down to his applesauce. "Let's hang lots of emerald green balloons and cover the ottoman and the table with sea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother pityingly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Nancy Gilmore. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a garlic press."
"Okay then," Darryl responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with an air kiss. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."