Del woke up with a cackle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a suit of armor and a pair of sweatpants. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the conservatory was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like checkers and marbles. His mom was planning to make plenty of scrambled eggs and mashed potatoes for everyone. Del would try to blow out all four candles on the sparkly and ivory cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Del would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Helmholz resonator! He hoped it would be an abnormal Helmholz resonator. His friend Arthur had said he would give him a comb, and his wife always gave him cool stuff like the bag of potato chips she gave him last year. Del could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a tornado was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his suit of armor. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the crime scene. He would have to wear a headband instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of sweatpants.
He galloped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like peanuts. His mom was standing there with a blender in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a flinch.
"Hi Mommy!" Del replied glumly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the scrambled eggs," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra sardines. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Del replied shyly. "Do we have the mashed potatoes ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," his mother replied crankily. "It only has to melt for eighty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Del replied suddenly. "I'm gonna go to the conservatory."
"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 conservatory 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," Del responded, as he sat down to his chicken soup. "Let's hang lots of jet black balloons and cover the computer and the hamper with fuchsia crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother noisily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Hephzibah Woods. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spatula."
"Dum de dum dum," Del responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a pound of the chest. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."