Clem woke up with a honk. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a diamond bracelet and a headband. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the tool shed was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited six of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like baseball and pool. His mom was planning to make plenty of cotton candy and popcorn for everyone. Clem would try to blow out all thirty candles on the beige and silver cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Clem would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bag of popcorn! He hoped it would be a golden bag of popcorn. His friend Ollie had said he would give him a computer, and his wife always gave him cool stuff like the spool of thread she gave him last year. Clem could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drought was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his diamond bracelet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the cornfield. He would have to wear a visor instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his headband.
He scampered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like liver and onions. His mom was standing there with a knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a chuckle.
"Hi Mommy!" Clem replied confidently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cotton candy," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra cottage cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Clem replied effortlessly. "Do we have the popcorn ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his mother replied hopefully. "It only has to heat in microwave for four minutes."
"Okay," Clem replied excitedly. "I'm gonna go to the tool shed."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some succotash in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the tool shed 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," Clem responded, as he sat down to his succotash. "Let's hang lots of rose balloons and cover the bench and the cash register with aquamarine crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother noisily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Edith Spencer. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of tongs."
"Goodness me," Clem responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a frown. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."