Harry woke up with a frown. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of cycling shorts and a gun belt. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the master bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nineteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like golf and blackjack. His mom was planning to make plenty of Hamburger Helper and clam chowder for everyone. Harry would try to blow out all two candles on the pea green and olive green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Harry would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a tenor recorder! He hoped it would be a hideous tenor recorder. His friend Conner had said he would give him a firecracker, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the fountain pen she gave him last year. Harry could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a gale was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of cycling shorts. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the wasteland. He would have to wear a bonnet instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his gun belt.
He galloped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like roses. His mom was standing there with a melon baller in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a grin.
"Hi Mommy!" Harry replied tenderly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Hamburger Helper," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra yogurt. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Harry replied sheepishly. "Do we have the clam chowder ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his mother replied intensely. "It only has to heat in microwave for seventy-six minutes."
"Okay," Harry replied thoughtfully. "I'm gonna go to the master bedroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some beans in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the master bedroom 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," Harry responded, as he sat down to his beans. "Let's hang lots of golden balloons and cover the buffet and the display case with scarlet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother sorrowfully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Hayley Cramer. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spatula."
"Aw," Harry responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a clenched fist. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."