Fabien woke up with a raised eyebrow. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a bomber jacket and a diamond necklace. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the dungeon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fifteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like duck duck goose and solitaire. His mom was planning to make plenty of fried chicken and ceviche for everyone. Fabien would try to blow out all eleven candles on the emerald green and lime-green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Fabien would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a watering can! He hoped it would be a crisp watering can. His friend Bud had said he would give him a tube of glue, and his wife always gave him cool stuff like the fishhook she gave him last year. Fabien could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pall of doom was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his bomber jacket. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the arroyo. He would have to wear a beehive instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his diamond necklace.
He jumped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like chocolate. His mom was standing there with a wooden spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a flinch.
"Hi Mommy!" Fabien replied blankly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fried chicken," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra milk. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Fabien replied carefully. "Do we have the ceviche ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his mother replied timidly. "It only has to shake for forty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Fabien replied blankly. "I'm gonna go to the dungeon."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some dry toast in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dungeon 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," Fabien responded, as he sat down to his dry toast. "Let's hang lots of violet balloons and cover the ironing board and the credenza with indigo crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother hysterically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Mim Truman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dish cloth."
"Holy cats," Fabien responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a wag of the finger. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."