Henry woke up with a titter. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of earmuffs and a pair of cargo pants. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the parlor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eighteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like charades and Candy Land. His mom was planning to make plenty of crumb cake and macaroni for everyone. Henry would try to blow out all twenty-five candles on the hot pink and azure cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Henry would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bouquet! He hoped it would be an expensive bouquet. His friend Scotty had said he would give him a Barbie doll, and his wife always gave him cool stuff like the urn she gave him last year. Henry could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a driving rain was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of earmuffs. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the field. He would have to wear a raincoat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of cargo pants.
He leapt downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a stagnant pond. His mom was standing there with a corkscrew in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a raspberry.
"Hi Mommy!" Henry replied vacantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the crumb cake," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra spaghetti noodles. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Henry replied grandly. "Do we have the macaroni ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his mother replied fearfully. "It only has to boil for twenty-two minutes."
"Okay," Henry replied noisily. "I'm gonna go to the parlor."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fried okra in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the parlor 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," Henry responded, as he sat down to his fried okra. "Let's hang lots of rose balloons and cover the TV and the rocking chair with red crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother accidentally. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Kelly Sanabria. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a whisk."
"Waa," Henry responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with an air kiss. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."