Benjamin woke up with a snarl. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of toe shoes and a scarf. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the game room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like baseball and hearts. His mom was planning to make plenty of pot roast and pretzels for everyone. Benjamin would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the camouflage and salmon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Benjamin would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a salt shaker! He hoped it would be a plain salt shaker. His friend Aristotle had said he would give him a shovel, and his grandmother always gave him cool stuff like the lollipop she gave him last year. Benjamin 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 pair of toe shoes. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the crime scene. He would have to wear a nose ring instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his scarf.
He tiptoed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like nachos. His mom was standing there with a spatula in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a laugh.
"Hi Mommy!" Benjamin replied fervently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pot roast," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra chocolate chips. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Benjamin replied stealthily. "Do we have the pretzels ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," his mother replied sarcastically. "It only has to broil for twenty-one minutes."
"Okay," Benjamin replied resignedly. "I'm gonna go to the game room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lobster in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the game 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," Benjamin responded, as he sat down to his lobster. "Let's hang lots of maroon balloons and cover the crib and the desk with striped crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother properly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Scarlett Sargent. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a chopstick."
"Gosh almighty," Benjamin responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a chortle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."