Devlin woke up with a gasp. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a necktie and a corsage. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seventeen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like jump rope and seven-up. His dad was planning to make plenty of squash blossom soup and pumpkin pie for everyone. Devlin would try to blow out all eight candles on the periwinkle and tan cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Devlin would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a contract! He hoped it would be a frilly contract. His friend Victoria had said she would give him a peach, and his mother always gave him cool stuff like the bag of ice she gave him last year. Devlin could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a downpour was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his necktie. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the badlands area. He would have to wear a pair of combat boots instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his corsage.
He sneaked downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like elderberries. His dad was standing there with a potato masher in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a grimace.
"Hi Daddy!" Devlin replied thoughtfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the squash blossom soup," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra turmeric. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Devlin replied automatically. "Do we have the pumpkin pie ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his father replied deliberately. "It only has to boil for eighteen minutes."
"Okay," Devlin replied primly. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some Swiss cheese in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the salon first?" he begged.
"It looks just like it always does," his father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Devlin responded, as he sat down to his Swiss cheese. "Let's hang lots of salmon balloons and cover the casket and the washing machine with camouflage crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father urgently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Agnes Charles. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a chopstick."
"Yay," Devlin responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a wrinkled nose. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."