Wayne woke up with a grimace. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of contact lenses and a bandana. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the cage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like solitaire and red rover. His mom was planning to make plenty of roast Cornish game hen and bonbons for everyone. Wayne would try to blow out all sixteen candles on the brown and pea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Wayne would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a diary! He hoped it would be a ragged diary. His friend Rip had said he would give him a fishing pole, and his grandmother always gave him cool stuff like the salt shaker she gave him last year. Wayne could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a lightning storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of contact lenses. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the backyard. He would have to wear a toupee instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his bandana.
He hobbled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a Christmas tree. His mom was standing there with a melon baller in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a smack.
"Hi Mommy!" Wayne replied anxiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the roast Cornish game hen," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra salmon. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Wayne replied arrogantly. "Do we have the bonbons ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his mother replied cruelly. "It only has to roast for forty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Wayne replied admiringly. "I'm gonna go to the cage."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some sauerkraut in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the cage 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," Wayne responded, as he sat down to his sauerkraut. "Let's hang lots of fuchsia balloons and cover the credenza and the windowsill with lime-green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother nicely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Kjersten Welles. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a strainer."
"Holy smokes," Wayne responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a laugh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."