Wendell woke up with a giggle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a cummerbund and a pair of suspenders. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the conservatory was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like jacks and Monopoly. His mom was planning to make plenty of pancakes and prune pudding for everyone. Wendell would try to blow out all nine candles on the aqua and white cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Wendell would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an apple! He hoped it would be an ancient apple. His friend Mickey had said he would give him a daisy, and his sister-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the antenna she gave him last year. Wendell could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hurricane was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his cummerbund. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the circus tent. He would have to wear a flour sack instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of suspenders.
He crawled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like maple syrup. His mom was standing there with a pastry blender in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a laugh.
"Hi Mommy!" Wendell replied suavely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pancakes," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra orange peel. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Wendell replied bravely. "Do we have the prune pudding ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his mother replied stupidly. "It only has to sauté for fifty-two minutes."
"Okay," Wendell replied obediently. "I'm gonna go to the conservatory."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chocolate-covered ants 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," Wendell responded, as he sat down to his chocolate-covered ants. "Let's hang lots of khaki balloons and cover the billiard table and the four-poster bed with amber crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother trustingly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, So-Yeng Pimsleur. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of tongs."
"Gads," Wendell responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a simper. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."