Raymond woke up with a backward glance. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a shawl and a name tag. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the lounge was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like Candy Land and battleship. His mom was planning to make plenty of pumpkin pie and chocolate-covered ants for everyone. Raymond would try to blow out all eight candles on the jet black and purple cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Raymond would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an umbrella! He hoped it would be a ruined umbrella. His friend Luis had said he would give him a diamond, and his mommy always gave him cool stuff like the elephant tusk she gave him last year. Raymond could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a snowstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his shawl. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the mountain. He would have to wear a pair of jackboots instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his name tag.
He crawled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cherry blossoms. His mom was standing there with a fork in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a smile.
"Hi Mommy!" Raymond replied frenetically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pumpkin pie," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra sugar. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Raymond replied coolly. "Do we have the chocolate-covered ants ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," his mother replied timidly. "It only has to fry for four minutes."
"Okay," Raymond replied immediately. "I'm gonna go to the lounge."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some bread and butter in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the lounge 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," Raymond responded, as he sat down to his bread and butter. "Let's hang lots of rose balloons and cover the pool table and the table with indigo crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother urgently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Mary Lou Cole. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a sharp knife."
"Oh please," Raymond responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a shout. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."