Sam woke up with a squint. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a sombrero and a tunic. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the dungeon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-six of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like Cootie and jacks. His mom was planning to make plenty of ravioli and hors d'oeuvre for everyone. Sam would try to blow out all three candles on the peach and metallic red cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Sam would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a can of shaving cream! He hoped it would be a coarse can of shaving cream. His friend Ichabod had said he would give him a thumb drive, and his grandfather always gave him cool stuff like the horseshoe she gave him last year. Sam 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 sombrero. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the country meadow. He would have to wear a tarboosh instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his tunic.
He went downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like aftershave lotion. His mom was standing there with a pair of chopsticks in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a hug.
"Hi Mommy!" Sam replied madly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ravioli," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra Velveeta cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Sam replied tearfully. "Do we have the hors d'oeuvre ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his mother replied jokingly. "It only has to steam for eighty-one minutes."
"Okay," Sam replied wearily. "I'm gonna go to the dungeon."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some squash blossom soup 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," Sam responded, as he sat down to his squash blossom soup. "Let's hang lots of beige balloons and cover the pedestal and the footstool with green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother flightily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Maria Brady. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a turkey baster."
"Ack," Sam responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a snicker. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."