Roman woke up with a glare. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a heavy layer of makeup and a kimono. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the boudoir was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited sixteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like Simon Says and shuffleboard. His mom was planning to make plenty of lobster and ice cream for everyone. Roman would try to blow out all six candles on the tan and mauve cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Roman would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Van Gogh! He hoped it would be an authentic Van Gogh. His friend Elijah had said he would give him a dictionary, and his mother-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the pack of gum she gave him last year. Roman could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pall of doom was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his heavy layer of makeup. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the swamp. He would have to wear a pair of gloves instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his kimono.
He flounced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like used books. His mom was standing there with a pastry blender in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a tear.
"Hi Mommy!" Roman replied gratefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lobster," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra sweet pickles. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Roman replied doubtfully. "Do we have the ice cream ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," his mother replied truculently. "It only has to smoke for fifty minutes."
"Okay," Roman replied vacantly. "I'm gonna go to the boudoir."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some bread and butter in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the boudoir 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," Roman responded, as he sat down to his bread and butter. "Let's hang lots of lavender balloons and cover the hatstand and the hope chest with fuchsia crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother resignedly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Katherine Tyson. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a blender."
"Grrrrr," Roman responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a grunt. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."