Cory 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 ribbon and a bowler hat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the rec room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eighteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like blackjack and hide and seek. His mom was planning to make plenty of ice cream and chopped liver for everyone. Cory would try to blow out all thirteen candles on the green and ivory cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Cory would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a coat hanger! He hoped it would be a cotton coat hanger. His friend Nathaniel had said he would give him a notepad, and his mom always gave him cool stuff like the button she gave him last year. Cory 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 ribbon. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the lakeside. He would have to wear a belt buckle instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his bowler hat.
He reeled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like pine trees. His mom was standing there with a paring knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a honk.
"Hi Mommy!" Cory replied proudly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ice cream," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra sourdough. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Cory replied blissfully. "Do we have the chopped liver ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his mother replied openly. "It only has to whirl for thirty-five minutes."
"Okay," Cory replied pitifully. "I'm gonna go to the rec room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some Hamburger Helper 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," Cory responded, as he sat down to his Hamburger Helper. "Let's hang lots of golden balloons and cover the washing machine and the workbench with golden crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother carelessly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Jodene Shelby. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a bare foot."
"Yipes," Cory responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a raised eyebrow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."