JD woke up with a grin. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a bicycle helmet and a bracelet. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the laundry room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like cribbage and baseball. His dad was planning to make plenty of waffles and strawberry shortcake for everyone. JD would try to blow out all eleven candles on the azure and khaki cake. While the guests were eating their cake, JD would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a rag! He hoped it would be a peculiar rag. His friend Gladys had said she would give him a crutch, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the paper clip she gave him last year. JD could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pall of doom was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his bicycle helmet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the mountain. He would have to wear a thong instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his bracelet.
He walked downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like caramel corn. His dad was standing there with a slotted spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a fist bump.
"Hi Daddy!" JD replied shakily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the waffles," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra onion. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," JD replied sadly. "Do we have the strawberry shortcake ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his father replied tensely. "It only has to simmer for thirty-six minutes."
"Okay," JD replied blissfully. "I'm gonna go to the laundry room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some egg rolls in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the laundry room first?" he begged.
"It looks just like it always does," his father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," JD responded, as he sat down to his egg rolls. "Let's hang lots of fuchsia balloons and cover the bar stool and the cash register with turquoise crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father quietly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Ruby Fontanaro. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dish cloth."
"Crud," JD responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a grimace. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."