Robin woke up with a frown. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a sweatshirt and a rain coat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the linen closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twelve of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like dodge ball and Cootie. His mom was planning to make plenty of beef bouillon and lobster bisque for everyone. Robin would try to blow out all twenty-seven candles on the magenta and brown cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Robin would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a purse! He hoped it would be an ordinary purse. His friend Fritz had said he would give him a stuffed owl, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the paper clip she gave him last year. Robin could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a downpour was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his sweatshirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the circus tent. He would have to wear a pair of shin guards instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his rain coat.
He slumped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like gingersnaps. His mom was standing there with a paring knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a crow.
"Hi Mommy!" Robin replied courageously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the beef bouillon," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra corn syrup. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Robin replied viciously. "Do we have the lobster bisque ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his mother replied coolly. "It only has to marinate for thirteen minutes."
"Okay," Robin replied narrowly. "I'm gonna go to the linen closet."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some macaroni in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the linen closet 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," Robin responded, as he sat down to his macaroni. "Let's hang lots of polka dotted balloons and cover the beanbag chair and the fainting couch with crimson crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother narrowly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Mildred Schmidt. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a bare foot."
"Golly whiz," Robin responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a grin. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."