Adam woke up with a clenched fist. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a winter coat and a bicycle helmet. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like hearts and volleyball. His mom was planning to make plenty of cornbread and smoked salmon for everyone. Adam would try to blow out all twelve candles on the scarlet and golden cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Adam would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an iPhone! He hoped it would be a dry iPhone. His friend Drover had said he would give him a bagpipe, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the Big Gulp she gave him last year. Adam could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his winter coat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the garden. He would have to wear a stethoscope instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his bicycle helmet.
He tiptoed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a steakhouse. His mom was standing there with a wooden spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a hug.
"Hi Mommy!" Adam replied thankfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cornbread," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra marshmallows. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Adam replied recklessly. "Do we have the smoked salmon ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his mother replied smoothly. "It only has to deep fry for twenty minutes."
"Okay," Adam replied narrowly. "I'm gonna go to the closet."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pie a la mode in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the closet 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," Adam responded, as he sat down to his pie a la mode. "Let's hang lots of brown balloons and cover the dresser and the couch with pea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother threateningly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Anna Dipko. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an egg cutter."
"Jiminy crickets," Adam 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."