Tim woke up with a power fist. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a tattoo and a romper. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the living room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like dodge ball and seven-up. His mom was planning to make plenty of lasagna and lime sherbet for everyone. Tim would try to blow out all twenty-one candles on the terra cotta and fuchsia cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Tim would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a vacuum cleaner! He hoped it would be a colossal vacuum cleaner. His friend Lucifer had said he would give him an iPhone, and his girlfriend always gave him cool stuff like the baby doll she gave him last year. Tim could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hailstorm 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 lagoon. He would have to wear a cowboy hat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his romper.
He slunk downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a stagnant pond. His mom was standing there with a mixing spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a sneeze.
"Hi Mommy!" Tim replied clumsily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lasagna," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra shallots. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Tim replied sympathetically. "Do we have the lime sherbet ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his mother replied reluctantly. "It only has to fry arrogantly in cardboard skillet for sixty minutes."
"Okay," Tim replied smoothly. "I'm gonna go to the living room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chopped liver in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the living room 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," Tim responded, as he sat down to his chopped liver. "Let's hang lots of purple balloons and cover the fainting couch and the safe with salmon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother automatically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Griselda Eppley. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spatula."
"Thanks for nothing," Tim responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sniffle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."