Zachary woke up with a guffaw. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a leotard and a feather boa. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the boudoir was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like musical chairs and doctor. His mom was planning to make plenty of fried chicken and bonbons for everyone. Zachary would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the yellow and azure cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Zachary would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a billiard ball! He hoped it would be a loose billiard ball. His friend Baldwin had said he would give him a skull, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the yo-yo she gave him last year. Zachary could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dust storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his leotard. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the forest. He would have to wear a pair of jeans instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his feather boa.
He danced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like nachos. His mom was standing there with a food processor in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a wag of the finger.
"Hi Mommy!" Zachary replied sagely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fried chicken," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra mozzarella cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Zachary replied solemnly. "Do we have the bonbons ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his mother replied sarcastically. "It only has to boil for seventy-seven minutes."
"Okay," Zachary replied tearfully. "I'm gonna go to the boudoir."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken gumbo in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the boudoir 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," Zachary responded, as he sat down to his chicken gumbo. "Let's hang lots of azure balloons and cover the cupboard and the washstand with mauve crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother swiftly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Claire Martin. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric paint mixer."
"Dum de dum dum," Zachary responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a flinch. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."