Ken woke up with a beam. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of shoes and a pair of nylons. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the guest room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like tag and pool. His mom was planning to make plenty of country glazed ham and pot roast for everyone. Ken would try to blow out all fifteen candles on the beige and black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Ken would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a photograph! He hoped it would be a striking photograph. His friend Papa had said he would give him a stick of gum, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the nail she gave him last year. Ken could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blizzard was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of shoes. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the steppe. He would have to wear a set of dentures instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of nylons.
He crawled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Christian Dior. His mom was standing there with a piece of cheesecloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with an evil eye.
"Hi Mommy!" Ken replied timidly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the country glazed ham," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra chopped onions. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Ken replied crankily. "Do we have the pot roast ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his mother replied unexpectedly. "It only has to age for thirteen minutes."
"Okay," Ken replied tensely. "I'm gonna go to the guest room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some burritos in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the guest 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," Ken responded, as he sat down to his burritos. "Let's hang lots of hot pink balloons and cover the filing cabinet and the ottoman with silver crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother steadily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Abigail Conrad. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an oven mitt."
"Ay chihuahua," Ken responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sigh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."