Lucas woke up with a smack. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a diamond necklace and a fedora. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the foyer was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nineteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like roulette and solitaire. His mom was planning to make plenty of roast turkey and Hamburger Helper for everyone. Lucas would try to blow out all eight candles on the rose and red cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Lucas would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a teapot! He hoped it would be a worn teapot. His friend José had said he would give him a radio, and his girlfriend always gave him cool stuff like the trash can she gave him last year. Lucas could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a driving rain was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his diamond necklace. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the mountaintop. He would have to wear a jogging suit instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his fedora.
He hobbled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like bubble gum. His mom was standing there with a pastry blender in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a kiss.
"Hi Mommy!" Lucas replied majestically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the roast turkey," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra minced onion. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Lucas replied happily. "Do we have the Hamburger Helper ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his mother replied coldly. "It only has to steam for twenty-four minutes."
"Okay," Lucas replied unnaturally. "I'm gonna go to the foyer."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some refried beans in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the foyer 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," Lucas responded, as he sat down to his refried beans. "Let's hang lots of brown balloons and cover the armoire and the futon with rose crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother thoughtfully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Cherise Remington. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a piece of cheesecloth."
"OMG," Lucas responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a crow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."