DeWitt woke up with a hiccup. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a denim skirt and a beard. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the garage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like Mother May I and crazy eights. His mom was planning to make plenty of fish and chips and squash blossom soup for everyone. DeWitt would try to blow out all five candles on the polka dotted and burgundy cake. While the guests were eating their cake, DeWitt would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a hat! He hoped it would be an imitation hat. His friend Phineas had said he would give him a can of beer, and his mom always gave him cool stuff like the cookbook she gave him last year. DeWitt could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainbow was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his denim skirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the swamp. He would have to wear a pair of tights instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his beard.
He scurried downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like meatloaf. His mom was standing there with a corkscrew in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a shout.
"Hi Mommy!" DeWitt replied haughtily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fish and chips," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra corn oil. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," DeWitt replied briskly. "Do we have the squash blossom soup ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his mother replied cleverly. "It only has to grill for sixty-five minutes."
"Okay," DeWitt replied clumsily. "I'm gonna go to the garage."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some omelet in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the garage 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," DeWitt responded, as he sat down to his omelet. "Let's hang lots of aquamarine balloons and cover the counter and the carpet with hot pink crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother victoriously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Elsa Nakamura. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an egg cutter."
"Dang it," DeWitt 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."