Stuart woke up with a cackle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a derby and a suit of armor. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the boudoir was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eleven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like Candy Land and tag. His mom was planning to make plenty of chicken pot pie and ham for everyone. Stuart would try to blow out all thirty-two candles on the terra cotta and hot pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Stuart would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a key! He hoped it would be a loose key. His friend Gerald had said he would give him a model airplane, and his main squeeze always gave him cool stuff like the wastebasket she gave him last year. Stuart could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an earthquake was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his derby. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the grassy knoll. He would have to wear a pair of flip-flops instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his suit of armor.
He climbed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like peanut butter. His mom was standing there with a meat thermometer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a twitch.
"Hi Mommy!" Stuart replied lamely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken pot pie," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra kiwis, peeled and sliced. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Stuart replied again. "Do we have the ham ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," his mother replied uselessly. "It only has to blend for fifty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Stuart replied wildly. "I'm gonna go to the boudoir."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some duck a l'orange in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the boudoir 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," Stuart responded, as he sat down to his duck a l'orange. "Let's hang lots of tan balloons and cover the futon and the windowsill with aquamarine crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother woefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Drew Morgan. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a sharp knife."
"Anyhow," Stuart responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a coo. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."