Karl woke up with a death glare. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of heels and a pocket watch. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the parlor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like Snakes and Ladders and charades. His mom was planning to make plenty of lobster and pancakes for everyone. Karl would try to blow out all twenty candles on the olive drab and pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Karl would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a spinning wheel! He hoped it would be an automatic spinning wheel. His friend Twigs had said he would give him a camera, and his friend always gave him cool stuff like the fishhook she gave him last year. Karl could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of heels. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the dump. He would have to wear a cheerleader's uniform instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pocket watch.
He walked downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like coffee. His mom was standing there with a pastry blender in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a wag of the finger.
"Hi Mommy!" Karl replied cruelly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lobster," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra half and half. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Karl replied again. "Do we have the pancakes ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his mother replied crazily. "It only has to sear outside for forty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Karl replied valiantly. "I'm gonna go to the parlor."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some egg drop soup 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," Karl responded, as he sat down to his egg drop soup. "Let's hang lots of striped balloons and cover the ping-pong table and the china hutch with amber crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother fervently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Lily Nixon. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a blender."
"Knock me over with a feather," Karl responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a tear. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."