Malcolm woke up with a hug. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a gas mask and a bonnet. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the study was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like hopscotch and Rummy. His mom was planning to make plenty of pecan pie and popcorn for everyone. Malcolm would try to blow out all twenty-four candles on the chartreuse and pea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Malcolm would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a can of beans! He hoped it would be a fancy can of beans. His friend Lars had said he would give him a can of soup, and his mom always gave him cool stuff like the avocado she gave him last year. Malcolm 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 gas mask. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the field. He would have to wear a derby instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his bonnet.
He sallied forth downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like vinegar. His mom was standing there with a basting brush in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a giggle.
"Hi Mommy!" Malcolm replied thankfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pecan pie," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra Cheerios. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Malcolm replied miserably. "Do we have the popcorn ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his mother replied trustingly. "It only has to place on serving dish for seventy-nine minutes."
"Okay," Malcolm replied ruefully. "I'm gonna go to the study."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some smoked salmon in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the study 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," Malcolm responded, as he sat down to his smoked salmon. "Let's hang lots of periwinkle balloons and cover the display case and the bookshelf with olive green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother peevishly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Elliott Peña. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pastry blender."
"Big deal," Malcolm responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a guffaw. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."