Don woke up with a power fist. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a babushka and a big red rose. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the game room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-six of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like volleyball and trivia. His mom was planning to make plenty of waffles and tacos for everyone. Don would try to blow out all nine candles on the polka dotted and terra cotta cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Don would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a toothbrush! He hoped it would be a synthetic toothbrush. His friend Willie had said he would give him a dart, and his wife always gave him cool stuff like the flyswatter she gave him last year. Don could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his babushka. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the country meadow. He would have to wear a bandana instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his big red rose.
He sailed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like sausage. His mom was standing there with a spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a yawn.
"Hi Mommy!" Don replied cautiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the waffles," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra powdered sugar. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Don replied cheerfully. "Do we have the tacos ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his mother replied sorrowfully. "It only has to refrigerate overnight for sixty-six minutes."
"Okay," Don replied softly. "I'm gonna go to the game room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some crab rangoon in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the game room 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," Don responded, as he sat down to his crab rangoon. "Let's hang lots of chartreuse balloons and cover the toilet and the ping-pong table with grey crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother gleefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Pippa Pattel. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric mixer."
"Voilà," Don responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a flush. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."