Britt woke up with a snarl. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a bustier and a ring. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the dining room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited one of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like red light green light and backgammon. His mom was planning to make plenty of cabbage and crumb cake for everyone. Britt would try to blow out all thirteen candles on the olive green and brown cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Britt would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a tennis racket! He hoped it would be a stolen tennis racket. His friend Dave had said he would give him a hacksaw, and his grandmother always gave him cool stuff like the flashlight she gave him last year. Britt could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sleet storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his bustier. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the rainforest. He would have to wear a Speedo instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his ring.
He blundered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like fingernail polish remover. His mom was standing there with a pastry blender in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a smile.
"Hi Mommy!" Britt replied courteously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cabbage," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra garlic. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Britt replied daintily. "Do we have the crumb cake ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his mother replied kindly. "It only has to arrange for sixty-two minutes."
"Okay," Britt replied shyly. "I'm gonna go to the dining room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some applesauce in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dining 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," Britt responded, as he sat down to his applesauce. "Let's hang lots of brilliant orange balloons and cover the stool and the stairway with brilliant orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother warmly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Carina Brock. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a meat thermometer."
"Yummy," Britt responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a shiver. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."