Todd 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 belly button jewel and a dress. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the pantry was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirty of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like Mother May I and Snakes and Ladders. His mom was planning to make plenty of lobster bisque and chicken pot pie for everyone. Todd would try to blow out all nine candles on the purple and ivory cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Todd would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a crayon! He hoped it would be a cotton crayon. His friend Warren had said he would give him a fountain pen, and his grandfather always gave him cool stuff like the Rubik's cube she gave him last year. Todd could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a period of warm weather was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his belly button jewel. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the ridge. He would have to wear a pair of khakis instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his dress.
He stalked downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like orange blossoms. His mom was standing there with a potato peeler in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a woof.
"Hi Mommy!" Todd replied cruelly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lobster bisque," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra Dijon mustard. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Todd replied lamely. "Do we have the chicken pot pie ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his mother replied suddenly. "It only has to sear for eighty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Todd replied madly. "I'm gonna go to the pantry."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some jambalaya in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the pantry 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," Todd responded, as he sat down to his jambalaya. "Let's hang lots of chocolate brown balloons and cover the bookcase and the armoire with striped crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother gratefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Evette Hyde. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a garlic press."
"Ka-ching," Todd responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a woof. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."