Donnie Bob 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 gold medal and a bulletproof vest. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the dining room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited ten of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like seven-up and rummy. His mom was planning to make plenty of cotton candy and steak for everyone. Donnie Bob would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the maroon and peach cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Donnie Bob would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a sponge! He hoped it would be an abnormal sponge. His friend Bill had said he would give him a firecracker, and his cousin always gave him cool stuff like the microphone she gave him last year. Donnie Bob could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a flood was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his gold medal. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the forest. He would have to wear an Eton jacket instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his bulletproof vest.
He stalked downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like mildew. His mom was standing there with a candy thermometer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a titter.
"Hi Mommy!" Donnie Bob replied crankily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cotton candy," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra Dijon mustard. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Donnie Bob replied viciously. "Do we have the steak ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his mother replied energetically. "It only has to shake for sixty minutes."
"Okay," Donnie Bob replied dolorously. "I'm gonna go to the dining room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some prime rib 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," Donnie Bob responded, as he sat down to his prime rib. "Let's hang lots of rose balloons and cover the pedestal and the dishwasher with jade crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother zestily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Doralene Brontsky. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a basting brush."
"The joke's on me," Donnie Bob responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a tear. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."