Mitch woke up with a flinch. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a tattoo and a Superman costume. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the doghouse was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited sixteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like hopscotch and pool. His mom was planning to make plenty of cabbage rolls and applesauce for everyone. Mitch would try to blow out all twenty-eight candles on the orange and emerald green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Mitch would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a key ring! He hoped it would be a rancid key ring. His friend Twigs had said he would give him a candy cane, and his grandfather always gave him cool stuff like the doll she gave him last year. Mitch could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a thunderstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his tattoo. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the ridge. He would have to wear a jacket instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his Superman costume.
He straggled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like popcorn. His mom was standing there with a ladle in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a bow.
"Hi Mommy!" Mitch replied furiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cabbage rolls," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra wasabi powder. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Mitch replied wildly. "Do we have the applesauce ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his mother replied arrogantly. "It only has to whirl for twenty-six minutes."
"Okay," Mitch replied gleefully. "I'm gonna go to the doghouse."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fried chicken in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the doghouse 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," Mitch responded, as he sat down to his fried chicken. "Let's hang lots of navy blue balloons and cover the safe and the bathtub with sea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother majestically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Meredith Harrison. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a foot."
"Swell," Mitch responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a snuffle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."