Alton woke up with a smirk. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of bloomers and a pair of jackboots. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the nursery was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like chess and crazy eights. His mom was planning to make plenty of pot roast and country glazed ham for everyone. Alton would try to blow out all twelve candles on the ivory and silver cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Alton would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bullet! He hoped it would be a hideous bullet. His friend Karl had said he would give him a teacup, and his sister-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the cracker she gave him last year. Alton 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 pair of bloomers. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the dumpster. He would have to wear a polo shirt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of jackboots.
He stormed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like orange peel. His mom was standing there with a potato peeler in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a cheer.
"Hi Mommy!" Alton replied charmingly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pot roast," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra beef sirloin tips. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Alton replied silently. "Do we have the country glazed ham ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his mother replied boisterously. "It only has to toast for one minute."
"Okay," Alton replied happily. "I'm gonna go to the nursery."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some French fries in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the nursery 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," Alton responded, as he sat down to his French fries. "Let's hang lots of orange balloons and cover the umbrella stand and the nightstand with sparkly crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother victoriously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Fran Frankowitz. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dish cloth."
"Goodness," Alton responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a chuckle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."