Rodney woke up with a twitch. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a bikini and a pair of glasses. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the foyer was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seventeen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like Simon Says and leapfrog. His mom was planning to make plenty of pizza and blueberry pie for everyone. Rodney would try to blow out all eleven candles on the aquamarine and purple cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Rodney would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a chain! He hoped it would be a loose chain. His friend Max had said he would give him a wrench, and his dad always gave him cool stuff like the potato she gave him last year. Rodney could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainbow was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his bikini. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the stream. He would have to wear a big smile instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of glasses.
He scampered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a sardine cannery. His mom was standing there with a spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a blush.
"Hi Mommy!" Rodney replied delicately. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pizza," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra salmon filets. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Rodney replied smoothly. "Do we have the blueberry pie ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his mother replied recklessly. "It only has to freeze for five minutes."
"Okay," Rodney replied gracefully. "I'm gonna go to the foyer."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some succotash in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the foyer 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," Rodney responded, as he sat down to his succotash. "Let's hang lots of blue balloons and cover the bath mat and the bar stool with brilliant orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother pityingly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Winifred Wenzel. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an egg cutter."
"Oh joy," Rodney responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a roar. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."