Bruno woke up with a snicker. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of boxing gloves and a blanket. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the attic was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like charades and Rummy. His mom was planning to make plenty of candy and beef bouillon for everyone. Bruno would try to blow out all nineteen candles on the orange and indigo cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Bruno would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pot! He hoped it would be a papery pot. His friend Marv had said he would give him a peanut, and his friend always gave him cool stuff like the paintbrush she gave him last year. Bruno could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dust storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of boxing gloves. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the pond. He would have to wear a balaclava instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his blanket.
He slipped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like chicken soup. His mom was standing there with a grater in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a sneer.
"Hi Mommy!" Bruno replied deliberately. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the candy," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra thinly sliced radishes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Bruno replied gingerly. "Do we have the beef bouillon ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his mother replied sourly. "It only has to heat in microwave for eighty-four minutes."
"Okay," Bruno replied boldly. "I'm gonna go to the attic."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tofu in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the attic 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," Bruno responded, as he sat down to his tofu. "Let's hang lots of periwinkle balloons and cover the coffee table and the bookcase with grey crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother carelessly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Clara Provenzano. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a fork."
"Just a minute," Bruno responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a snuffle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."