Harley woke up with a sniff. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in an apron and a tailcoat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the rec room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seventeen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like croquet and hearts. His mom was planning to make plenty of French fries and mulligan stew for everyone. Harley would try to blow out all twenty-five candles on the teal and crimson cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Harley would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bowling ball! He hoped it would be a greasy bowling ball. His friend Oscar had said he would give him a blanket, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the bat she gave him last year. Harley could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a typhoon was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his apron. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the tundra. He would have to wear a bib instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his tailcoat.
He hobbled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cookies. His mom was standing there with a Sham-Wow! in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a gasp.
"Hi Mommy!" Harley replied warily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the French fries," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pecan pieces. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Harley replied busily. "Do we have the mulligan stew ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his mother replied innocently. "It only has to allow to rise in warm place for several hours for fifteen minutes."
"Okay," Harley replied shakily. "I'm gonna go to the rec room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some waffles in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the rec 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," Harley responded, as he sat down to his waffles. "Let's hang lots of aquamarine balloons and cover the wooden crate and the armoire with maroon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother timidly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Emma Beach. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato masher."
"Shoo," Harley responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a death glare. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."