Rufus woke up with a backward glance. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a class ring and a Stetson hat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the front porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like volleyball and checkers. His mom was planning to make plenty of clam chowder and pretzels for everyone. Rufus would try to blow out all twenty-seven candles on the black and lavender cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Rufus would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a gun! He hoped it would be a cardboard gun. His friend Bart had said he would give him a magazine, and his grandmother always gave him cool stuff like the pigeon she gave him last year. Rufus could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot, sunny day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his class ring. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the oasis. He would have to wear a blanket instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his Stetson hat.
He slipped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rum. His mom was standing there with a pair of tongs in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a snort.
"Hi Mommy!" Rufus replied blissfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the clam chowder," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra parsley. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Rufus replied quietly. "Do we have the pretzels ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his mother replied softly. "It only has to microwave for sixty-six minutes."
"Okay," Rufus replied suspiciously. "I'm gonna go to the front porch."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ravioli in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the front porch 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," Rufus responded, as he sat down to his ravioli. "Let's hang lots of ivory balloons and cover the cash register and the pool table with silver crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother zestily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Tanya Koch. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an oven mitt."
"Holy smokeroo," Rufus responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a hug. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."