Angelo woke up with a gurgle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a black armband and a diaper. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the garage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twelve of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like dodge ball and golf. His mom was planning to make plenty of catfish stew and chicken gumbo for everyone. Angelo would try to blow out all twenty candles on the olive green and olive green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Angelo would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a clarinet! He hoped it would be a striking clarinet. His friend Matthew had said he would give him an umbrella, and his aunt always gave him cool stuff like the business card she gave him last year. Angelo 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 black armband. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the backyard. He would have to wear a pair of socks instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his diaper.
He crawled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like hamburgers. His mom was standing there with a basting brush in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a frown.
"Hi Mommy!" Angelo replied excitedly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the catfish stew," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra fresh mushrooms. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Angelo replied impatiently. "Do we have the chicken gumbo ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his mother replied boldly. "It only has to poach lightly for thirty-six minutes."
"Okay," Angelo replied brashly. "I'm gonna go to the garage."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some clam chowder in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the garage 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," Angelo responded, as he sat down to his clam chowder. "Let's hang lots of camouflage balloons and cover the windowsill and the cupboard with indigo crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother arrogantly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Susie Popper. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a mixing spoon."
"Dag nabbit," Angelo responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sneeze. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."